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As a white person we do not think we are entitled ..it’s all about culture and even as a 58 year old and would go to clubs in my earlier days I never knew that when you was dancing there was a connection between you both, so today I learnt something new . You are better dancers then us whites and for over 40 years tried to dance with the fantastic smooth dancing you are able to do .
As a very good dancer myself I could never master it . It’s in your soul and also your culture from when you are born . It’s not in ours .

When white people try to dance with you and join in it’s not disrespectful thats in our culture and how we are brought up ..and if we try to copy your moves then take it as a complement or we would never try them in the first place ,but we would never perfect them like you do , believe me .
Our culture ,when your on the dance floor is that we all dance as one no invisible cords or fences . We all join in together friendly and enjoying ourselves .

You get upset by whites trying to join in . Well we also get upset when you snub us it’s a big insult in our culture . it works both ways . All you have to do is shake you head saying no and point to your friend then you will be left alone .

So now you know our culture next time whites try to join in you won’t hate us so much because we are definitely not entitled we are all equal ..we all come into this world the same and we will all leave the world the same

I have clarified some questions and reorganized the Student Handout to improve student understanding. I have also added information to the Teacher Notes.
Ingrid

In the state of Texas you must carry the baby to full term or go to a state that allows abortions. It is hard to believe an exception it’s not granted for medical conditions such as this. I’m not saying an abortion is the right choice even though many doctors recommend it. 3 out of 4 doctors in Houston told my friend to go to Louisiana and get an abortion. Only one doctor showed compassion. My friend said it’s in God’s hands and that she was not going to make that decision. I admire her strength and faith in God. She’s an amazing person going through a tragic time. I never submit comments on blogs. I felt I had to on this due to the many harsh words about the babies with this condition and the women that carry them full term. I don’t know how you sleep at night. Your feelings could be expressed in a much kinder way.

Hi, interesting. Do you really think it really has connection - cats and this eye condition?

Wondering if having a cat is a common theme for CNV Patients-

I was doing some research and stumbled on this. It saddens me. I agree that dance is a language and would argue for it being a universal one, a wondrous bridge between cultures. With very few (regrettable) exceptions, on the dance floor, in the streets of New Orleans, or at gatherings in Africa I've experienced a visceral connection to everyone in the room, and since I don't go to church I can say that these are the moments that keep my faith in humanity alive. Readers need/want to know, so I'll identify myself: a white woman nearly 70, who dances at every opportunity, including alone. I learned African dance from African friends and teachers and it was with awe and respect that I moved my hips along with theirs until it clicked, and I'm unstoppable. Visiting friends in Zimbabwe, we danced at different clubs every night for weeks. At concerts in Africa (no I am neither a missionary nor an NGO worker) I've been beckoned to the stage by female performers and mirrored their movements with unbound joy. Perhaps they ridiculed me later on but I truly doubt it. I will never apologize for being the color I was born but it's always been important for me to populate my life with people whose hues and stories are different than mine; the better to feel like just one heartbeat in the human parade. Am I a cliche of some kind even though I've got the moves? Are my Black friends exasperated with me? Of course not. There are no pretensions here; just pure joy all around. And really, when the music is good and everyone's in the zone there's no judgment; no place for self-consciousness in recreational dancing, no baggage in tow. We can talk white privilege, colonial legacy -- bottomless and urgent subjects -- but please let the dance floor be common ground, for real.

This article helped me identify something about laughter that I've been overlooking my whole life. It is that laughter happens out of a surprise. I think with this awareness, I will be better equipped to laugh and to make others laugh. SURPRISE!!!!....Thank you.

Oh my gosh I just got chills reading your reply!! I was thinking it was a white lab coat but now that you said that it could've been a robe! This is so crazy in such a great way! Lol

Hi! Thanks for the reply. I live north of Houston TX, what about you? It's so great to have someone to talk to about this! I'm so excited to learn more!

Hi! I can't believe I found you! I've been to that room a few times. As I read about your experience I knew what you were going to say next. The difference was at the start of my experience it was like I was being led into the white room (better than our color white can be) it felt like they needed my help with something. Sorta like I worked there just in a different department. I was standing next to the silhouettes. There were 2 or 3 of them around that table. All I could see of them was lower chest level but they were way out of focus, extremely blurry/swirling. I think now, like you said, I was seeing that energy. We were communicating. I don't know what was said I just know it was happening. I looked down at the table. Now, I don't know who exactly was on the table but you are the only other person I have ever come across that is aware of that room. And not just that, but you were experiencing it from the exact opposite perspective! I'm so excited! Lol when I looked at the table all I could see was the extra vivid and detailed pregnant belly of the person/human laying there. The top of the belly had already been removed and I was looking at the top of 5 tiny baby heads. It was so detailed I could see their veins right under the developing thin layer of skin. I have no clue what they wanted me to do. That was it. I woke up the normal way I wake up, I wasn't ripped out of this experience. When I woke up I had a deep knowing that I was physically somewhere else. The weirdest thing was how clean everything stayed. There wasn't any blood drops or anything....

The second time was similar to the way you felt in the room except this time I felt myself "come to" . I was very confused because I was just in my house. Also it wasn't the room, I was in a white hallway. I stopped walking trying to get my bearings and I saw a being in front of me. I felt like it was male. There was 2 doors on my right but without doors. Just blurry grayish rectanguls. The being hadn't noticed I wasn't following him anymore and he turned to go through the second opening. I yelled out " wait, wait! Angel!?" I don't know why I called him that but it startled him and when he realized what was going on he instantly went to that out of focus energy state and was coming towards me very quickly. Then I woke up, back at my house, very scared and in defense mode. It happened so fast!

It was a gift reading about your experience in the white room and even if we didn't share that dream state you still made my night!

The folic acid has been shown to help. I gave birth to an anencephalic stillbirth in 2000. In 2003 I had a healthy baby boy. Good luck.

I won't take up your time by describing my own memory symptoms because they are largely in common with those discussed in the main article and in many of the comments below. However, it might help if mention a simple technique for dealing with the real life consequences, at least the social consequences of this type of problem. I simply apologise for not being able to remember a person's name, the name of a singer or film star or movie or whatever saying something like: "Oh sorry, I suffer from nominal aphasia and I can never remember [. . . .] ". This completely wards off any sense of social embarrassment and can even be a topic for an interesting change of conversation.

Once you give something a label, especially an official or medical label, people are a lot happier and are much less likely to think you are weird for not being able to remember something so obvious and so simple.

So aside from my nominal aphasia being annoying to me personally, it has never been a real problem for me socially.

We all must remember that this condition is not black or white - its a spectrum. There can be a child that is classified as anencephalous, but still has some normally functioning parts of their brain. There can also be other children, with no functioning parts of their brain and only a brain stem, that are technically living but "living" in the same way that a cell is. They metabolize and do nothing else.

We recommend this animated video from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Vaccine Makers Project:

https://vimeo.com/579667076