I was talking to someone else about mermaid safety and something they said upset me. When I expressed concerns like many others, that a death of a mermaid would cause issues for the entire community, they basically belittled it that since scuba divers die all the time it wouldn't make that big a difference. It inspired this rant :d interested to hear your thoughts below.
Merfolk, as much as we all know the media can overblow things, hype them up, and create hysteria... we can't pretend that swimming in a mermaid tail and related activities such as breath holding etc aren't without risks. We are a tiny community compared to others, and if you think one death wont effect us all... you're wrong. One person found dead in their mermaid tail, drowned, would be absolutely devastating for that person and their family, but would also ruin the potential our community has. We'd be under a microscope, people would lose business, insurance costs would sky rocket, and it would affect other areas as well.
Please, look at this for yourself as an adult the same way we look at safety for kids in tails. Don't swim alone. Don't attempt things well outside your abilities without professional guidance and support. Get scuba certified if you can because it seems to really help. Have a plan for emergencies (do you know how you'd get out of a pool if you're doing a gig in your 50lb silicone tail and they evacuate the pool because of fire, potential for electric shock, or other harm?) and use common sense. Those effortless videos you see ofHannah Mermaid underwater with sharks? You're not seeing the dozens of safety divers, the people wrangling sharks, the people swimming over to her with air.
You can dream big and take the necessary steps (or splashes) to get there. But with an unpredictable element such as water and other factors, there's no short cutting it. You gotta put the time in and learn the skills, and create for yourself a safe environment.
Even something as simple as how many kids you have at a pool party per mermaid can make a difference. I've been working with different mentors on how to make our company safer and have various protocols so my mers know what to do in dangerous situations. I've been reaching out to other professionals to help us gain specialized safety training in areas such as underwater blackouts etc. Having access to an AED (at any public venue it's standard here in Canada), having access to people trained in CPR, knowing how to get a tail off someone else in emergency etc.
...and while we're on the subject, pools concerns about kids in tails are valid. I know, we know that issues are few and far between, but that doesn't mean they're over-reacting by being concerned. A ban? yes, an over reaction, but what leads to these over-reactions is people not being responsible, and the same will go for us as adults. If we don't take these responsibilities toward safety seriously we will limit ourselves. (there's other threads specifically about kids and bans etc)
Instead of meeting safety concerns with an eye roll, try brainstorming and putting into place some solutions. This has been your rant for the day!
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Originally Posted by AniaR
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