(no subject)

Hi all!

I've been asked to make another PSA. People, please don't go onto Christina's LJ (sapphsmum) and make posts there calling her a liar and wishing for an unhappy ending to her tale. I haven't seen such posts there, but I know a few posts have been screened, so that may be why I can't see them.

Personally, here's my take on this - I believe that she has been suffering from a rare form of cancer that impacts her salivary glands. I also believe that having COBRA is a good thing for everyone who's in remission from cancer, or recovering from any other severe illness, and that is why I linked to her LJ post about her situation. I don't know enough about the gastric bypass issue that she's posted about on her LJ and her 4Christina.org website to make any judgment about it, and this LJ isn't really the place to debate the merits of it either. I don't know anything about Illinois' laws on nonprofits, but I do know that a fund to support an individual cannot get federal 501(c)(3) status. That doesn't mean that funds to support individuals don't have the potential to be helpful, beneficial and all sorts of other good stuff - it just means you can't deduct the sum you donate when you file your federal taxes. And that is one reason why many in the US prefer to donate via 501(c)(3)'s - because the government gives you a little pat on the back for your contribution.

I don't really know what else to say at this point. It's horribly frustrating to be lied about online, but I'm used to it - people have been doing it for coming on four years, so it's a bit old hat for me. When I was in the hospital almost two years ago, I was still the subject of some posts on the LJ version of fandom wank and I don't think there was a big outpouring of wibbling about the fact that I wasn't around to reply. I think it's positive that people care so much about Christina, and I hope that spirit of generosity and understanding isn't limited to just her - I'm not asking for myself, but in a sort of general way going forward.

And yes, I do know that by posting this, it might very well start all sorts of "Heidi is an evil beeyotch!" posts again, but nothing will prevent that. So why bother trying to try?

ETA: And it did! Huge surprise there. Anyone who's just wandering past, please, read my LJ before you say something stupid like "Heidi refused to help sapphsmum!" because it's just untrue. If you're going to criticize me, base it on facts, not what you may've read fourth-hand on some other journal.