A year ago in Disability thinking … Winter Paralympics - Thursday, March 13.
That was just last year? I'm not sure I can wait another three years to see Wheelchair Curling again.
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Thursday, March 12, 2015
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Jane Hawking’s Not-Bad Idea
The Guardian - March 11, 2015
“The Theory Of Everything”, the film about Steven Hawking that won Eddie Redmayne an Oscar this year has caught a lot of flack from the more activist parts of the disability community, including me. In brief, we’re tired of non disabled actors winning awards for playing disabled characters, especially when disabled actors can’t get work. Plus, we hate to see tired old clichés repeated, such as the scene where Hawking … while being recognized for his astounding achievements in physics … dreams of walking again. Forget being one of the most recognized and admired physicists of all time, I just wish I could walk over and pick up a pencil.
All that aside ...
I was really impressed that Jane Hawking, Steven’s first wife who is also portrayed in the film, used a gala reception at Buckingham palace, for a very traditional disability “charity”, to suggest that what disabled people in the UK really need is better support from their government. Usually, these charity “dos” are all about raising donations for a cure, and are carefully apolitical. It’s one reason why so many disability advocates shy away from traditional charities.
Jane Hawking’s proposal is pretty vague … to use funds from companies that don’t pay taxes now to fund better support services. But it is radical and refreshing for her to even mention systemic change and economic justice in a high-profile charity event.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think we have ever heard anything so specific and political from Dr. Hawking himself, who when he talks about disability tends to stick with a very personal perspective and a somewhat blandly neutral tone. I’ve always kind of liked that about him, that he neither bemoans nor romanticizes his disability. It would be helpful, though, if he had more to say about disability in general, and the status of disabled people in society.
Anyway, I just think that Jane Hawking deserves some praise for her observations, and where and when she chose to make them. More like this please.
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Tuesday, March 10, 2015
What's An Institution?
What kinds of living and working situations for disabled people count as “institutional” and what counts as “inclusive” or “community-based?” What makes one approach “institutional” and another not? Which produces the best results for disabled people? Why were disabled people institutionalized so much in the past?
Since it seems like people are still defending institutions, even talking about having more of them, I think it's important to be direct about the issue. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find clear, simple talk about it.
That’s why these live Tweets caught my eye. They are from a presentation by Ari Ne'man. President of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, given at a conference in San Francisco, Developmental Disabilities: An Update for Health Professionals. He makes some great points:
Monday, March 9, 2015
Disability.TV Ep. 20 - Mini-Cast
Show Notes
#FilmDis … Twitter hashtag, hosted Saturday evenings at 9:00 PM Eastern, by @dominickevans.
BBC Ouch! Disability Talk Show: Oscars, acting, and singing on the tube - February 4, 2015 … Panelists discuss non-disabled actors dominating disabled roles in movies and TV.
TVTropes.com … Search “disability” to find dozens of disability “tropes” or clichés.
Hear More and Subscribe:
If you are so inclined, please leave an iTunes or Stitcher review. Positive reviews help more people discover the Disability.TV Podcast.
Comment:
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Video Of The Day
It has been quite awhile since I posted anything about the Disability Visibility Project, so I’m so glad to have a chance to post this video by the project coordinator, Alice Wong:
This presentation was given at a conference at the University of California at San Francisco, Developmental Disabilities: An Update for Health Professionals. I stumbled upon this conference on Friday, when I noticed lots of Tweets about some of the sessions. I was hugely impressed at how many speakers the conference had who focused on the cultural and social justice sides of disability, alongside the more clinical content one would expect at a conference aimed at the medical profession.
This presentation was given at a conference at the University of California at San Francisco, Developmental Disabilities: An Update for Health Professionals. I stumbled upon this conference on Friday, when I noticed lots of Tweets about some of the sessions. I was hugely impressed at how many speakers the conference had who focused on the cultural and social justice sides of disability, alongside the more clinical content one would expect at a conference aimed at the medical profession.
I’m going to post more about the conference tomorrow.
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Weekly Wrap-Up
Sunday, March 1
Monday, March 2, 2015
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Friday, March 6, 2015
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Captain Pike's Weird Dilemma
One of these days soon, I’m going to have to do a blog post, podcast discussion, or both about the Star Trek two-part episode The Menagerie. It’s one of the most memorable of the original series episodes, but also one of the most bizarre, especially its depiction of the severely disabled Captain Christopher Pike. For one thing, the show depicts a level of far future high-tech adaptation that has already been surpassed in real life. Then there are the ideas about disability that drive the plot. It’s all based on the assumption that even in the 22nd century, physical disability is just about the worst thing that can happen to someone. Yet, there are small moments and details that nod towards Captain Pike retaining some agency in the world, despite appearing to be an inert lump of flesh that can only say "yes" or "no".
The Menagerie is weird viewing to begin with. For someone familiar with disability issues, it’s doubly hard to untangle, but kind of compelling.
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Friday, March 6, 2015
Disability Blogger Link-Up
Time to "spring forward". But first, here’s this weekend's Disability Blogger Link-Up!
Use the contraption below to post a blog post or article on something related to disability … something you want others to read.
To make the articles easier to browse, in the “Your name” blank, type the title of the article. In the "Your URL" blank, paste the whole website address of the thing you are posting.
Then click the "Enter" button. That's it!
If your post doesn't appear immediately, try "refreshing" the page a few times. Sometimes it takes a little while to show up. Also, feel free to post more than one item. Finally, you might want to add a comment at the bottom of this post, to identify yourself or add an explanation or comment about the items you are posting.
Have fun posting and reading! This Link-Up will close at Midnight Eastern on Sunday.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Photo Of The Day
It’s been awhile since I posted a photo here.
Throwback Thursday
A year ago in Disability thinking … Vigil Followup.
Thoughts after last year’s Day Of Mourning. I’d still like to know more about the legal outcomes of these situations.
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Wednesday, March 4, 2015
The Politics and Policy of Home Care
Jane Hash, The Mobility Resource - February 28, 2015
I’m sure there are all kinds of quasi-budgetary, quasi-reform proposals currently meddling with generally functional home care systems in other states. I’m blogging on what’s happening in Ohio for two reasons.
One, I’ve been reading Tweets about home care in Ohio for months now, maybe a year. Two, this is the first full explanation of the issues I have seen so far. Three, it’s written by Jane Hash, who I met virtually when she discussed American Horror Story: Freak Show with me on my Disability.TV podcast.
It still amazes me that there aren’t more Republican politicians who buy into consumer-directed models of home care. It’s less bureaucratic, it relies on lots of individual responsibility, and, more cynically, consumer direction has an uneasy relationship with unionized nursing. It shouldn’t, but it does.
Of course, the sticking point is that it involves taxpayer money, comparatively large amounts of it, essentially being given, directly or indirectly, to low-income severely disabled people to manage home care for themselves. Personal responsibility may be a cherished value of conservatism, but giving poor people lots of money and services is definitely not.
I am curious about the issue of the alternative program mentioned, which would, apparently, make consumers the “employer of record”. In one sense, this sounds like a reaffirmation of consumer control. On the other hand, it makes it an all-or-nothing proposition … either you take ALL responsibility on yourself, or you give up all of it to a home care agency.
In New York State, where I live, consumer-directed home care typically involves non-profit agencies that act as “fiscal intermediary”. They don’t decide who to hire and fire, and they don’t train the workers. The consumers do that. But the agencies pay the taxes, cut the paychecks, and even provide decent health insurance to the workers, still at a lower cost and slightly better pay to the workers.
All of this aside, it seems like a bad idea to shake things up too often, even if it’s to implement possibly good ideas. Home care is an extremely delicate, intimate thing. If you’re able to find the right workers and create a healthy, functional system for your care, you don’t need loads of bright ideas imposed on you whenever its budget time again.
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Tuesday, March 3, 2015
A Bit Of Word Wonkery
He is disabled, but ... (something positive).
He is disabled, and ... (something positive).
Both are ways that people say and write nice things about disabled people, but it makes a huge difference whether they use “but” or “and."
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Followup: 2015 Day Of Mourning
Alice Wong, Disability Visibility Project - March 3, 2015
This address by Alice Wong, at one of Sunday’s Day Of Mourning 2015 events, is heartbreaking and empowering all at the same time. It’s always tricky to imply, “My life is pretty great so yours can be, too,” but we’re talking about life and death here. Those three kids weren’t allowed to even try.
I still don’t have much appetite for punishment. But the contrast between what life with even the most “severe” disabilities can be, and how hopeless these killers and the news media just assume it is, shows just how far apart and confused we still are about the nature of disability. It’s a vital reminder to the disability community that “disability awareness”, so easily trivialized, really is important. Somehow, we’ve got to penetrate the brick wall between people with disabilities who are happy and glad to be here, and the parents, professionals, and news media who think disability equals suffering and hopelessness.
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