my new PreP brand comes tagged for ET (for emtricitabin/tenofovirdisoproxil) and this dug up a buried memory that one of my mean high school nicknames was ET (as in "alien", weird)
aliens in general have disappeared from pop culture, isn't it? like neurodiv people used to be told even affectionately "one day they'll come take you to your planet", you were a sci-fi changeling. for some this grew into a full blown escapist fantasy, like in the "star children" belief.
when I meet people from the country they still tell stories of ghosts and demons, but hardly anybody talks anymore of alien vessels coming hover over the city square... or maybe it's just my bubbles, dunno.
Goo Truther 
anti-autism stuff
@elilla the "starseed child" thing is very much alive and well with antivaxxers and other conspiracy people who believe in established alien contact in the United States. I come across it regularly when looking for YTP video editing source material. It has extremely ableist connotations as it is a label conspiratorially minded ET-believer moms will label their autistic kids with instead of being helpful or understanding. To the extent that people on here might find mentioning it a traumatizing thing.
re: anti-autism stuff
@thufie oh, I didn't know any of that! where I came from it was a term of honour, like if you're a star child you have an especially evolved soul or something, who could develop supernatural gifts, and in time you'd be contacted by the wise masters of the universe in astral trips to bring peace to earth, that kind of thing. here, I'll quote directly from a live new age blog that sounds just like the old UFO magazines:
> The star children, or crystal children, came to us to support humanity in our ascension to the stars... This enlightened generation comes with a different vibration, with their heart chackra extemely active and pulsating via the heart... want to find out if your child is a star child? See if they:
- are very sensitive to other people's energy;
- are exceedingly perceptive with psychic gifts;
- have a clear sense of their global life purpose;
- are congruent between heart, mind, words, actions;
- are passionate for justice and integrity;
- have a develop sense of humanitarian help;
- need a very safe environment, physically, emotionally, spiritually;
- need emotionally stable adults around them.
> I want you to internalise that we, parents, have the greatest RESPONSIBILITY of activating the maximum power of the magnetic children.
so when I got called a star child by crystal healing ladies that was problematic in the way that calling children "gifted" or "genius" is, but never anything like you describe.
now I wonder if the USA pejorative star children have the same origin as the new age star children but like, filtered through the lens of pentecostalism, which often used age-of-aquarius alternative-reality stories as fodder for satan scares.
