XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   XPost: pa.politics, alt.society.mental-health   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   TikTokkers and YouTubers are being slammed for visiting a poor   
   Philadelphia community just to take videos of residents high on a powerful   
   sedative called “tranq” — in a movement known as “tranq tourism.”   
      
   Some social videos that document the drug use in the low-income   
   neighborhood of Kensington show people lying on the ground or zoom in on   
   users who have taken the analgesic, which can cause difficulty in standing   
   upright as well as flesh-eating wounds, an exploitative trend that was re-   
   highlighted in the Guardian Sunday.   
      
   The videos often mock the people experiencing these symptoms, calling them   
   “zombies,” “junkies” or even “fiends,”a recent documentary by The News   
   Movement shows.   
      
   In a few of the social media clips, drug users are questioned about their   
   personal lives in ways that opponents argue are playing on their   
   vulnerabilities after they took the drug.   
      
   Tranq is the nickname for xylazine, a horse tranquilizer that officials   
   warn could be lurking in the cocaine supply or be laced with fentanyl, the   
   super-deadly synthetic opioid.   
      
   The powerful sedative causes difficulty breathing, dangerously low blood   
   pressure, slowed heart rate and wounds that can become infected, according   
   to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   
      
   Tranq is extremely inexpensive; a kilogram of the dangerous powder can be   
   bought online from China for as little as $6, the Drug Enforcement Agency   
   warned last year.   
      
   “These videos don’t pull at the heartstrings; they make these people look   
   like animals in a zoo instead of individuals that need help,” Dr. Geri-   
   Lynn Utter, a clinical psychologist, told the outlet.   
      
   “It’s become very exploitative here; people from all over Europe and the   
   US are coming into the area and putting their phones or cameras in   
   people’s faces. It’s detrimental because it isn’t helping.   
      
   “It’s continuing to dehumanize. These people are not in the right frame of   
   mind to consent or participate in a social media clip.”   
      
   But the videos have persisted, with Sarah Laurel, founder of Savage   
   Sisters, a nonprofit supporting those affected by substance abuse,   
   estimating to the Guardian there are now “over 150 channels dedicated to   
   Kensington and all the things that take place here.”   
      
   Their faces are rarely blurred out and #Kenzingtonzombies has millions of   
   views.   
      
   In one video posted by “Addiction After Dark” that reached 1.5 million   
   views referenced in the documentary a woman is filmed in an unspecified   
   location rocking back and forth.   
      
   The interviewer asks her how old she is, to which the woman replies, “I’m   
   sorry, please give me a moment.”   
      
   She later holds her hand up in front of her face and asks the person   
   filming her to give her some respect.   
      
   “Addiction After Dark” captioned the video: “She is NOT crazy, she has a   
   disease.   
      
   “Addiction is a disease that requires treatment. Spread awareness, stay   
   informed.”   
      
   But as one TikTokker commented, “This is so exploitative. Sharing this   
   video does nothing to help her.”   
      
   In many other videos, content creators often use terms like “help” or   
   “raise awareness” to justify their videos, the Guardian reports, and   
   experts say some believe their clips are truly the only way to show   
   support or shine a light on the drug problem in Kensington.   
      
   But there’s usually no way to donate funds or assist those they’re   
   watching, and in some cases, content creators have even set up online   
   fundraisers for the addicts, who never see the money, a content creator   
   only referred to as “Jeff” told the Guardian.   
      
   Others even admit that they’re making these videos mostly for the money,   
   according to the outlet.   
      
   Profits on both TikTok and YouTube depend on the reach of the video.   
      
   In 2022, the typical compensation for YouTube content creators in the US   
   was roughly $4,600 each month, according to Influencer Market Hub.   
      
   The website, owned by Google, typically pays about $20 for every 1,000   
   views.   
      
   TikTok is similar, but a user must have at least 10,000 followers to begin   
   to earn money.   
      
   Jeff, though, told the Guardian he believes there is a way to film these   
   videos and pour the money back into the community.   
      
   He makes about $1,000 a month, which he spends on wound care and supplies   
   like clothes, according to the report.   
      
   Laurel, whose organization offers resources like wound care, showers and   
   daily supplies from its storefront, agreed.   
      
   “Don’t just show up and record, bring resources, clean up,” she told the   
   Guardian.   
      
   “Ask the community what they need.”   
      
   https://nypost.com/2023/12/17/news/tiktokkers-slammed-for-filming-drug-   
   users-in-tranq-tourism/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)