Where In The World?

The Visitors Map widget on the lower right of the blog tells me that while most Disability Thinking readers are in the United States, there are a respectable number of readers from all over the globe. Plus, the American readers aren’t all clustered in the Northeast where I live. Here’s a little snapshot:

48 states + District of Columbia

Top 10 states

California

New Jersey

Ohio

New York

Texas

Illinois

Washington

Virginia

Massachusetts

Minnesota

51 countries

Top 10 countries, other than the United States

United Kingdom

Canada

Australia

Germany

Argentina

France

Ireland

Philippines

India

New Zealand

Video Of The Day

This seems like an important thing for people to look at today.

Via the Just Rolling On Tumblr blog.

Two Disability Cultures

I sometimes think that many of the conflicts within the disability community are less about specific disagreements than about peoples’ different responses to sentimentality on the one hand, and irony on the other. It’s almost like there are two disability cultures.

One is sustained by positivity, inspiration, and aspiration, and is either indifferent to or uncomfortable with discussions of policy and advocacy. The other “side” is fueled by injustice, collective action and identity, and a sort of world-weary cynicism about where disabled people really stand in the world. And they are either indifferent to or revolted by heartwarming stories of personal optimism and spirituality.

The only time the two cultures seem to cross is when we occasionally unite to share heartwarming, inspirational stories about prominent disability rights advocates, like Justin Dart and Judy Heumann. Otherwise, our two tribes seem to be carrying on entirely different conversations.