From the Disability Curious Tumblr blog. (Child & Flutist)
Monday, November 18, 2013
Disability News
Lucy Berrington, Psychology Today - November 14, 2013
This is a very good primer on the Autism Speaks controversy. I like the way it is structured around the kinds of questions people unfamiliar with the issue are likely to ask. This is the kind of issue outline that should be prepared for all sorts of disability issues that get mainstream media attention. It’s right to complain about journalists’ ignorance of disability issues, but it’s also probably up to us to educate them.
Bob Greene, CNN - November 17, 2013
I honestly thought when I started reading this article that the disabled man was going to turn out to have been killed, maimed, or tortured. I’ll bet he was scared to death, and probably felt extra humiliated because he was targeted for his disability. But, I can’t help feeling that Bob Greene’s tone in the article just doesn’t match the actual severity of what happened. The man was robbed, but he wasn’t injured. I know that’s not saying much, but it’s not nothing. Maybe I’m just naturally contrary about these stories, but I see evidence of a story about a significantly disabled man who lives independently, has full mobility in society, and who is taking a rare but not unheard-of misfortune of city life … a mugging … in stride. Yes, he was targeted because of his disability, but there’s nothing in the article that suggests it was anything like a “hate crime”. I feel bad for the man, and I do think it’s pretty low to target a person in a wheelchair this way, but sorry, I don’t get the “revulsion”.
Ableism In A Nutshell
I’m re-watching the early seasons of “Downton Abbey”, the ITV / PBS series that takes place in England in the ten or so years after 1912. In Season 2, a main character has a spinal cord injury from fighting in World War I. He’s being pushed around the big estate’s grounds in his wheelchair, by his on / off, will they / won’t they lover.
He, the disabled man, says, “I’m strong enough to push myself.” She, the non-disabled woman replies, “I’ll be the judge of that.”
It’s a tossed-off line, not the start of an argument, not even a mild one. It’s just something they say. But what a pure, distilled example of one of the main forms of ableism.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Weekly Wrap-Up
Links to last week's "Disability Thinking" blog posts ...
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Friday, November 15, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Daily Doses
I don’t only visit disability blogs and websites. I also have a list of other sites I read pretty much every day …
Press-Republican … My hometown newspaper.
Wonkblog ... Part of the Washington Post website, Wonkblog offers several posts a day on current events, with a greater focus on policy, data, and how things actually work than most editorial blogs. It's a good place to find simple yet thorough "explainer" articles on current hot topics in the news. They also manage to maintain a fairly lighthearted style, while never trivializing important issues. Wonkblog is worth a look for it's coverage of the Affordable Care Act alone.
Salon.com … I’ve been reading this online magazine since the mid 1990s, though I find myself appreciating it a little less these days. I read Salon for its coverage of politics and cultural trends, and for a few of it's columnists, such as Alex Pareene and Joan Walsh.
Eschaton … I admire blogger Duncan Black’s brief style, (which pre-dates Twitter), and generally agree with his political views. He’s especially good at getting to the heart of complex issues, and isn’t afraid to repeat himself, especially ideas that don’t get enough airing.
Matthew Yglesias … A good blogger on economics from a Democratic / moderately liberal perspective. Like most of the other bloggers at Slate, he likes to explore seemingly counter-intuitive, but possibly valid ideas.
Ta-Nehisi Coates … I’m not particularly well read on issues of race, but for what my opinion's worth, Coates is far and away the most exciting, challenging, poetic writer on race, ethnicity, and gender I’ve ever read. I also find that his writings on race have affected my understanding of disability, even though as far as I know, he has never written about disability.
Balloon Juice … An important aspect of the blog’s history is that it’s founder, John Cole, started the blog in the early 2000’s as a staunch Republican, rabid Bush supporter, and loud defender of the Iraq War. You wouldn’t know it now, except that Cole applies the same passion and pugnacity to his writings as a staunchly liberal Democrat. Actually, most of the posts are by an equally excellent slate of bloggers that Cole manages. A good place to learn how to use casual language and an artful touch of crudeness in service of ideas you really care about.
The A.V. Club … My starting point for popular culture of all kinds, and a first stop for reviews on my favorite TV shows.
The Dissolve ... A fairly new website on films of all kinds, both new releases and old classics. If you like movies, and would like to know more about movie history, this is a great site to visit regularly.
What are your favorite daily Internet reads?
Friday, November 15, 2013
Here's The Thing ...
Some images of disabled people are really cool and empowering. Others are sweet and sentimental. Which kind you prefer depends a lot, and says a lot, about your personality.
Test The Disability Bechdel Test
Last Friday I tried to come up with a workable version of the “Bechdel Test” for disability on film and TV. I think I’ve got it now.
To recap, the Bechdel Test is a way to assess the portrayal of women in movies, television, or literature. A work “passes” the Bechdel Test if it:
1) Features at least two women, who
2) Talk to each other,
3) About something other than a man.
So, here’s my proposed Disability Bechdel Test. A work passes if:
1) Characters with disabilities are involved in significant plot developments not centered on their disabilities.
2) Disabilities are depicted realistically, neither less, nor more severe than they would be in real life.
3) Disabled characters are givers as well as receivers … supportive of other characters, not just supported by them.
I couldn’t come up with a test as elegant and unified as the original, but I think these three measures cover a lot of ground. They address important aspects of character, plot, and writing, not a laundry list of pet peeves. They aren’t about either “positive” or “negative" portrayals, they encourage realistic, three-dimensional depictions that allow us to get to “know” people with disabilities, not just react to them. I also think that TV shows and movies that do “pass” this test tend to be the better works overall.
Try this test on your favorite, or not so favorite, disability-themed TV shows and movies. What passes the test and what doesn’t? Next Friday, I’ll test two films, “Forrest Gump” and “My Left Foot”, and two TV shows, “Parenthood” and “Ironside” (both versions!).
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Photo Of The Day
From the Cripple Fabulous Tumblr blog.
Please do click the link to read an example of why the phrase “wheelchair bound” is so inappropriate.
What's The Deal With Autism Speaks?
Reblog by Sunshine, been keeping me up for days - November 14, 2013
This is the best collection of reputable links that explain why many people are upset with the well-known autism charity, Autism Speaks … that’s the organization whose logo is a blue puzzle piece. I particularly recommend the letter by John Elder Robison, in which he resigns from the Board of Directors of Autism Speaks. Criticism of the organization is particularly intense right now, because Autism Speaks is hosting a conference and Washington, DC lobbying effort this week.
I am not autistic. I don’t have children or other relatives who are autistic (that I know of). So why am I interested in this?
I think it’s important for as many people as possible to know that the nation’s most recognized autism charity has a very particular point of view that a great many people don’t agree with. It isn’t uncontroversial. You can support it’s goals and tactics if you agree with them, but don’t assume that because it’s about autism, and they have charity walks and things, that it must be good.
I think it’s important to hold all disability charities and organizations to a rigorous standard of conduct, and ask whether its goals and tactics are close enough to your views to support it.
I think that the debates between different understandings of autism provide important insight into the different ways all disabilities are experienced and understood.
Plenty of people without autism or a direct connection to autistic people support Autism Speaks. So, I don’t think it’s any more presumptuous for me to oppose Autism Speaks, or support an alternative autism organization I like better.
There IS at least one autism organization that I believe represents a better alternative to Autism Speaks … The Autistic Self Advocacy Network.
The resignation letter is beautifully written. It is also strong without being rancorous. Despite my lack of personal connection to autism, the letter moved me, particularly as a person with disabilities.
Survey
Andrea Shettle's Tumblr blog - November 14, 2013
This is a "signal boost" for a potentially valuable survey on employment and people with disabilities. I did it, and I encourage my readers to do so as well, especially those who have disabilities.
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