Friday, January 17, 2014
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Customization!
Roc Morin, The Atlantic - January 15, 2014
"With these prostheses, Sophie enables her customers to conceal their absences and blend in. But the artist also caters to another kind of clientele: amputees wanting to stand out.”
There is definitely something important about disabled people who think to “trick out” their adaptive gear … their prosthetic limbs, their crutches, their braces, their wheelchairs. After visiting dozens of websites and blogs per day for over a year, I get the sense that it’s mostly people who would be into tattoos and brightly dyed hair whether they were disabled or not. What I really wonder is whether it works at all to encourage people new to disability to think about personalizing their stuff. This could be adults who become disabled and are in the early to mid rehabilitation process, or kids and teenagers with visible disabilities who might be agonizing over the stigma of being different. Customizing adaptive equipment can be a tremendously liberating thing, giving people a way to embrace their disability and make it a coherent part of who they are … not some foreign addition at odds with their self-perception.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Nothing Is Worse
Lynn Arditi and Linda Borg, Providence Journal - January 15, 2014
Fuck this shit.
I don’t think there’s any aspect of the disability rights / disability policy world that makes me angrier than when people with developmental disabilities are herded like cattle into sheltered workshops and “day programs”, where they either waste away on entirely useless, easily managed pursuits, or help produce products that actually are sold in the real economy, while making sub-minimum wage.
Look, it’s entirely true that just because a disabled person is capable of performing a job, doesn’t mean a job can always be arranged for him or her. But in theory, nobody in our cutthroat economy has as much individual support and coaching available to them than people with developmental disabilities. Yet, so often that help is, in fact, theoretical. Why that is, I still don’t know, and I’ve been observing it … admittedly on the margins … for over 20 years.
In some ways, it’s too bad it takes a Justice Department Civil Rights ruling to shake up these complacent setups. Better ideas and better practices are all out there, in full and effective use. All these musty institutions have to do is embrace them. On the other hand, since change doesn’t seem forthcoming through other avenues, I’m extremely grateful that the U.S. Justice Department is pursuing these cases aggressively.
It can’t happen soon enough.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Shopping While Disabled
Rebecca Smiters, The Guardian - January 14, 2014
There’s nothing surprising in this report about the barriers disabled people in the UK encounter trying to shop in the “high streets” of their towns. It’s the same here in the United States. But I was struck by the clarity of the article, and its focus. In a strange way, not having to mention the Americans with Disabilities Act helps keep attention on the actual, practical problems that deter and exclude people, rather than just debating whether this or that practice violates the law. I still think well-crafted anti-discrimination laws and accessibility codes are important, but sometimes they distract us from simply noting exactly how customer service sucks for disabled people.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Photo Of The Day
I was just thinking the other day that almost all the blogged photos on the theme of "disabled people are sexy" are of women. So, when I saw this one I figured I really had to post it.
From Photographer With Wheels Tumblr blog, via Disabled People Are Sexy.
Two Things To Read Today
Bill Keller, The New York Times - January 12, 2014
Linda Holmes, NPR Monkey See Blog - January 12, 2014
A few notes about these articles:
I suggest reading the Keller piece first, because it’s likely to make you angry or at least uncomfortable. The Holmes post may make you feel sad, but also kind of exhilarated, because she writes about a sad, upsetting thing in such a beautiful, resonant way. You’ll feel better at the end if you read the articles in this order.
Both articles are about social issues in which there are valid points on "both sides". There are, in fact, different approaches to life-threatening illness, and losing weight is, for many people, an important health goal. However, both of these priorities are almost always crusted over with unnecessary layers of social shaming and judgment, which means that really valuable, non-hurtful discussion on either of them is extremely rare.
The biggest problem with Keller’s Op-Ed isn’t so much anything he specifically says, it’s the tone throughout. If the contempt and disapproval oozing out of every sentence wasn’t intended, then he’s a terrible writer.
The brilliance of Holmes' piece I won't even try to explain.
Neither article is about disability, but both should speak loud and clear to disabled people regardless. Disabled people are constantly questioned about how we process and talk about our disabilities, both medically and socially. We are never more than a few steps away from the implication that the costs of keeping us alive and independent aren’t worth it, even to us (but really to everyone else). People say they just want to “have a conversation” about these “issues”, but what they really want to do is find a socially acceptable way of saying that the things we do and the way we do them are wrong.
We also frequently have to contend with supposedly well-meaning people who question the very nature of our disabilities, implying that there must be some unnamed “things” we could do to make ourselves better, or more functional, or more productive, if only we educated ourselves or tried harder or were less self-involved. We do it to each other, too. And of course, our "red handles" are either very, very visible and tempting, or, if not exactly visible, so large that people seem to run into them accidentally.
Addendum: A Tumblr blogger I admire reblogged this and pointed out that cancer might be considered a disability. I agree, especially since Keller treats this woman's cancer exactly the way ableist people treat other disabilities they "have opinions" about.
Addendum: A Tumblr blogger I admire reblogged this and pointed out that cancer might be considered a disability. I agree, especially since Keller treats this woman's cancer exactly the way ableist people treat other disabilities they "have opinions" about.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Disabled "American Girl” Doll … Followup
I’ve seen this story all over the place in the last couple of weeks, so I’m kind of amazed that this petition still needs over 26,000 more signatures to reach its goal.
Click here to sign the petition, asking “American Girl” to introduce a doll with a disability.
Why “Special Needs”? … Followup
Several people have responded to my question about use of the term “Special Needs” to describe kids with disabilities. Here’s one that isn’t very pleasant, and doesn’t explain, but certainly calls into question whether the term really accomplishes what people think it does:
From the I hate everyone Tumblr blog ...
"How long has “special needs” actually been a thing? because by the time I was in kindergarten special was already being used as a slur. Everyone loved it because it wasn’t a real swear so no one got in trouble. And the adults used it to of course.
Because it was “PC” it was totally allowed and considered better than words like “stupid” only there was no question of what people meant and harassed the special ed. kids for it.
I imagine most adults don’t use it because it’s probably a trigger for a lot of people because it’s totally unchecked and acceptable to use on people.”
Weekly Wrap-Up
Monday, January 6, 2013
Tuesday, January 7, 2013
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
Saturday, January 11, 2014
A Word About Poverty And Welfare
Mike Konczal, Washington Post Wonkblog - January 12, 2014
This breakdown of the terms of debate on “welfare” is a must read. It’s not really about disability per se, but it’s an example of how discussions of philosophies and priorities can be distorted, sometimes intentionally, by fuzzy thinking. Plus, a lot of people with disabilities use one or more of these programs, so it’s helpful to see how they actually work and what they cost.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Being A Lesson To Others
Stella Young, Australian Broadcasting Corporation - July 3, 2012
I just re-read this great piece by Australian journalist and disability activist Stella Young, and I think I have an alternative theory of "Inspiration Porn”. It’s not a replacement, It's more lie an addendum.
I agree with Stella that pictures of ordinary disabled people doing ordinary things, with blandly uplifting captions attached, mainly serve to tell non-disabled people, "You think your life is hard, it could always be worse!" They are also meant to encourage non-disabled people who are discouraged for other difficulties in life. If a paraplegic live life with a smile, than your problems shouldn't be too hard to handle.
However, I think these photos ... and videos, too ... serve another purpose. I think that "Inspiration Porn" has become another ideological weapon for a group of people with a strong conviction that today's society is decadent and lazy. Instead of uplifting people (whether we agree that they should or not), "Inspiration Porn" is now just as often used to shame people perceived to be weak, lazy, or entitled ... people perceived to have had it too easy, who are now unable to face adversity. Disabled people who show minimal levels of functionality or better are object examples of how people should face adversity ... with determination, ingenuity, and toughness.
This is another reason I dislike "Inspiration Porn." I think that the "world is going to hell / kids these days" constituency is dead wrong and harmful to boot. Society has plenty of ills, and it's easy to find people who think the world owes them a living. But, that's always been the case. I especially think that the so-called "Millennials" have been getting a bad rap. So, when "inspirational" photos and videos of disabled people are used to make others feel bad about themselves, in the words of Stella Young, it "really burns my crumpets".
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