First image: Black text on a distressed red background that reads “Disability is not a slur.
Second Image: Black text on an orange distressed background that reads "Autism/Autistic is not a slur.”
Third image: Black text on a yellow distressed background. It reads “We need to destigmatize the word disability. It’s not a slur, it’s not a swear word, and it’s not dirty. It’s simply a descriptor/label. But you know what are slurs? Words that actually hurt disabled people? The r-slur, cripple, lame, dumb, handicapable, deranged, deformed, crazy, insane. Most of these are still used as insults. Or equated to something bad.”
Fourth image: Black text on a red distressed background. It reads “Disabled people are already living in a world that was not made for us. A little consideration, even just about word choice, can make all the difference.
Fifth image: Black text on a yellow distressed background. It’s titled ‘Sources’ at the top of the image, which is then followed by a list of sources:
Something that I was unable to mention in the above infographic, the reason that words like insane or crazy are harmful because they reinforce that those are morally awful, horrible things, or at the very least something to be ashamed of. This is inaccurate and it only adds to the saneist propaganda already out there. The same goes for using the words 'blind’ and 'deaf’ in the wrong situations, like saying "Man I’m so deaf hahaha” or “Wow I really must be going blind.”
while i highly appreciate the new trend of people adding image descriptions to as many posts as they can, i think if youre going to write an image description for a well known meme you should make sure you’re familiar with the context of the original meme or else maybe you’re not the most qualified to be writing the description for that particular image. this post inspired by me seeing an ID of a version of the “ariana grande we’re really in it now” meme that described Manny Jacinto as “a white man”
also on a much more sinister note, intentionally misrepresenting what an image depicts when writing an image description for the sake of being funny, which is an (albeit rare) thing that i have actually been seeing people do, is literally disgusting and the fact that people could think thats acceptable is mind boggling to me. like obviously describing an image in a funny way that adds to the experience of the image is fine but ultimately image descriptions are a utility and accessibility measure that is meant to at least approximate the actual image and obscuring that for the sake of jokes is ableist xoxoxo
Wait what’s a buildings fire evacuation plan if you aren’t supposed to use the elevator to get down
You go down the stairwell/fire escape. Is that weird?
But what if you have a walker or a wheelchair??
in america at least, in this situation, there isnt one. either your loved ones or the firemen can get you out using the emergency fire escapes or stairs, or you die
That’s fucking horrific, thank you
“fun” little story:
last summer my friend who is an amazingly talented artist and i were in this super tall building, and she’s in a wheelchair and i’m pushing her around the room. it’s an art exhibit and some of her art was chosen to be showcased there and so it’s all fine and dandy until suddenly an alarm starts going off
a FIRE ALARM
everyone starts running for the stairs and my friend just looks at me with this forlorn look on her face
“i can’t go down the stairs”
but i’m a stubborn bitch “i’ll carry you”
“what about my chair? it’s too expensive for me to be able to get another one if i can’t get this one back”
“i’ll carry that too”
and i did. we went to the stairs (by then most people from our floor were gone) and i lifted her up in a fireman’s carry over my shoulder and then lifted her chair up and used the ridiculous amount of adrenaline that was coursing through my veins to make it down approximately 20 half-flights of stairs until we met some people exiting lower floors, one of which who kindly took the chair. I changed positions so i was holding my friend bridal-style which was, somehow, easier and the person who took her wheelchair (with her permission to handle it of course) accompanied me to the ground floor and then out the doors
basically there is no real protocol for people who can’t use the stairs in an emergency. it’s up to the people with them, if anyone, to help them or the person to somehow make it down the stairs alone, unassisted
thank fuck that it was just a faulty alarm system, because if i was unable to carry her down those stairs and the building was on fucking fire???? then i don’t know what would have happened to her, but i don’t think it would have been very good.
it’s fucking ridiculous and ableist to the absolute max.
I use a cane. When I did a day-long fire safety training at my northeast American university (UMass Amherst), I asked that exact same question: “what am I supposed to do if the fire alarm goes off and I’m in my lab on the twelfth floor?”
the fire marshal hemmed and hawed for a while and then said to take the elevator- you’re supposed to leave it free for the fire department to use and they want able-bodied people out fast not waiting for elevators. if the fire alarm has just gone off the building probably hasn’t suffered enough structural damage to make using the elevator dangerous, and modern elevator wells are heavily reinforced. many large and high-trafficked buildings on my campus have fire rated elevators that link in with the fire alarm system so they won’t let you off on a floor with a possible fire.
if the elevator isn’t working, wait in the stairwell and call the fire department to let them know where you are. modern stairwells are also heavily reinforced- it might not be pleasant but modern building code usually requires fire-resistant stairwell doors in office and big residential buildings, also to help firefighters get in and out safely. older buildings’ stairwells may or may not be retrofitted with fire-resistant doors but a stairwell is generally the safest place to wait if you can’t get out.
what happened to your friend was horrible, and i’m very glad you were there to help her out, but you can absolutely use the elevator to evacuate if it’s not shut down. those don’t-use-the-elevator rules are for abled people.
This is GOOD TO KNOW. why do they not tell people this??
Okay, firefighter here. If you are not physically able to use the stairs, and the elevator is NOT compromised, use the elevator. But you MUST be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the elevator is NOT compromised before you get into it, because there is always the chance that once you get into it, you may not exit it. Power could go out. The elevator may actually BE compromised and you just couldn’t tell from where you were until you were in there, and it suddenly shuts down on you. Something else could happen.
Understand that once you enter the elevator, you could POTENTIALLY be taking your life into your hands there.
It is NOT LIKELY, to be perfectly honest. It’s only in a pretty catastrophic scenario - think the Twin Towers, USA, on September 11th - that the elevators will be compromised and out of service. But there is a NOT ZERO PERCENT CHANCE and you need to understand that and accept it.
As for leaving the elevators free for the firefighters, okay, here’s the deal. Unless your nearest fire station is literally right next door? Your first on scene fire truck is NOT likely to be there on scene and needing that elevator before you get to the ground. It takes us TIME to find the address, gear up, and drive to the building. Then we need to hoof it into where the elevators even ARE, so YOU HAVE TIME to use the elevator to get down to the ground floor… BUT ONLY IF THERE’S NOT A RUSH ON THE ELEVATOR! And THAT is WHY we don’t tell people this shit. That’s WHY we tell people to NEVER USE THE ELEVATOR… because every self-entitled asshole will use it because they don’t feel like walking, and then put YOU in danger by delaying the elevator’s arrival to you.
IF, however, the elevator IS compromised, or you just can’t get it to come for you, or whatever, and you either don’t have anyone with you who has the adrenaline fueled BALLS to be able to toss you over their shoulder and hoof it down the stairs with you - because, let’s face it, that is RARE AS FUCK, then HERE IS WHAT YOU DO:
You call 911 and tell the call taker that you are in the building that has a fire alarm going off, and you are not able to evacuate because of a physical disability, and you tell them what floor you are on, and EXACTLY what stairwell you are waiting at. And the very FIRST thing that the firefighters are going to do once they arrive, if it is, indeed, a REAL emergency, and not a false alarm, is come get your ass and bring you down. Whether that means carrying you down the stairs, or whether that means locking out the elevators so that no one else can override them and coming to get you themselves, they WILL come get you FIRST THING if it is a real event. And if it is a false alarm? You will probably be the first person who is not involved with the building to know, because the call-taker is going to stay on the line with you until you are under someone’s care and out of danger, or until the scene has been sorted out as real or false, and you are out of danger that way.
These are pretty standard operations in the fire service throughout the United States. There may be some minor variations based on specific municipalities, but, for the most part, this is pretty typical: LIFE BEFORE PROPERTY. So, as long as SOMEONE knows where you are - hence why you call 911 - Firefighters will come get you. You are NOT alone, and you have NOT been abandoned. I PROMISE. It’s like, our whole reason for doing the shit we do: to save lives and to break shit. Sometimes, we get lucky enough to do both at the same time.
High rise fires suck ass, and I always hated them. But the very FIRST thing I asked anytime we got one was if we had “any entrapments” - which is what we call anyone who could not self-evacuate for ANY reason. We ain’t leaving you behind. And yes, your friend who doesn’t have the stamina to carry you down can stay with you, too. Because I would never ask that of someone, honestly.
Also, just a little FYI… MOST fire alarms are false alarms. Not to make anyone complacent or anything, but, yeah. Most of them are either system malfunctions, someone accidentally hit a pull station, or someone burned popcorn in a break room. So don’t let a fire alarm freak you out until you need it to - by smelling or seeing smoke or flames.
i have had multiple nightmares about this very thing because NOBODY BOTHERS TO ACTUALLY TELL WHEELCHAIR USERS THIS STUFF
I’m not particularly active on this blog right now due to reasons, but I think it’s important to highlight this.
I need everyone to understand that this is and was always the goal. Banning access to trans healthcare for minors was always the first step towards banning access to trans healthcare entirely. The focus on trans minors has been purely to drum up outrage (“won’t someone think of the children”) and to popularize the bans.
The Overton window has been shifted, so to speak. Less conservative individuals might be uncomfortable with the idea of outright banning adults from choosing what happens to their own bodies and making their own medical decisions…but if it’s banned for 17 year olds, is it safe for 18 year olds? 19? 20? 25? 30? Anyone?
I need everyone to understand that trans healthcare rights are inherently an issue of bodily autonomy, and that Christian conservatism is deeply opposed to the notion bodily autonomy. Banning trans youth from accessing gender affirming health care is to trans rights as the 20 or 15 or 6 week abortion ban is to abortion rights–the goal is to ultimately erase the legal right to bodily autonomy.
I need everyone to see the connection between transphobia and ableism. I definitely need everyone to stop perpetuating the concept of mental age. This includes repeating the incorrect and neuronormative line that “brains aren’t fully developed until age 25” or suggesting that autistic or otherwise neurodivergent people aren’t capable of understanding and making our own decisions. An adult is an adult regardless of neurotype, regardless of neurological development.
I especially need everyone to be worried about the implications of banning 18-25 year olds from having full control over their own medical decisions. How else might that eventually be weaponized? Especially in regards to reproductive rights?
I’ve believed for years that banning the ability to medically, legally, and socially transition entirely would become a popular Christian conservative goal, and possibly a reality. Not only to enforce their religious beliefs around assigned sex upon us legally–but because trans people who need and are able to transition have better mental health and are more likely to live happier longer lives. And they don’t want us to live.
Keep thinking about this. It means that the people who receive SSDI can literally NEVER be a part of the group legislating the program. I feel genuinely sick to my stomach…because like…that’s the formal structure. We’ve all accepted this??????????
The SSI Restoration Act of 2021 is currently proposed to congress. We have until 2023 to get it passed (this post is dated March 30, 2022). SSI is a type of disability payment for disabled Americans. The bill will increase the SSI payment to the poverty level. Right now the maximum payment is 9528$ a year. It will allow disabled people on SSI to marry and not lose their income which they cannot do currently. Disabled Americans do not have marriage equality currently. It will increase the asset and income caps for SSI among other improvements.
Friends and I made a website that has all of this info plus a really easy way to send an email to your state reps. If you click the link below, you can send a letter of support for the SSI Restoration Act to your state reps. It’s already written and takes only a few minutes. Seriously it is ridiculously easy. These emails have more pull to reps than resistbot so please fill out if you can!
With our letter campaign, people have sent over 5,000 letters to representatives! We’ve decided to make a new campaign with updated information to send to reps. So if you have already sent one through fixssi.com, you can send another! And if you haven’t please take the time to do so!
We also have a Facebook called “Campaign to Fix SSI” that you can follow for regular updates as well.
And if you are able to call state reps (which has the most influence) our website has a call script and lists of your reps phone numbers. Please follow the link below for that.
Learn about Brad Lomax, Black Panther and Disability Rights Activist Who Co-Lead the “504 Sit-In” (LISTEN)
Learn about Brad Lomax, Black Panther and Disability Rights Activist Who Co-Lead the “504 Sit-In” (LISTEN)
[Photo credit: HolLynn D’Lil. Brad Lomax, center, next to activist Judy Heumann at a rally in 1977 at Lafayette Square in Washington.] by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson) Today, GBN celebrates Brad Lomax, the Black Panther Party member and disability activist who helped lead the “504 Sit In” to demand the federal government provide accessibility in a federal buildings and institutions. To…
My hot take is that actually food allergies are a disability and more people need to realize that. The amount of research people with food allergies have to do when they want to go visit places but arent sure if they’ll have access to any food there is insane. Allergy friendly food is almost ALWAYS incredibly expensive in stores bc of all those fucking fad diets that like yoga instructors and middle age soccer moms make popular. And on top of the price, it is so hard to FIND! Almost evrry grocery store ive been to has a tiny ass allergy section that is almost always near empty. Plus what about people who don’t have the money to pay 10$ for a loaf of bread? You go to starbucks and non-dairy milks are like 70 cents extra? People are definitely out there buying and eating stuff that is destroying their digestive systems because they have no other choice. I am begging people to stop pretending that catering to people’s food allergies is elitist and not worth is. We need to make these options openly available.
And this is one of several reasons that I firmly hold the opinion that prohibiting people from bringing their own food into sports stadiums and amusement parks and hotels is an accessibility issue, and should be treated as such. Concession stands and hotel restaurants do not and cannot provide enough choices to accommodate every possible food allergy or intolerance, and that means not letting people bring in their own food = not letting people eat while they’re there.
(Side point: it’s also a religious discrimination issue – and it’s even more trouble when religious dietary restrictions and health-related dietary restrictions overlap. I’ve been in the center of that particular venn diagram and it sucks.)
There was a court case which ended up mediated and established that if a facility doesn’t provide food you can eat, they have to permit you to bring your own. It was specifically about celiac.
If you have a food allergy or other digestive issue, it is covered under the ADA update of 2008.
Come armed with paperwork. Call or email ahead. And remember these magical words:
“I am requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for my disability.”
One of my go-to moves is an email like this, a week or two ahead of a visit or an event:
Hello,
I am writing to request an accommodation for my disability from your facility. I will be attending X on Y day with my family. I have celiac disease and must eat specially-prepared food from a “safe” kitchen. Celiac disease is an ADA-recognized disability and the ADA provides for me to be able to bring my own food to any facility that cannot provide me with food I can eat.
Since X does not have a dedicated gluten-free kitchen, what is the least-stressful way for me to bring my own food to X on Y day? I am happy to bring whatever paperwork is necessary to show security, please just let me know what you need!
Thank you in advance for your help.
Approach it as though your right to have safe food, and that clearly the people in question are going to help you. Make clear that you know the law, but don’t be a dick about it. State as fact that they’re going to let you bring food in, and what you are negotiating is how to make that easy on everyone. State as fact that the kitchen isn’t safe, if that’s the case, and make clear that you are happy to bring paperwork or otherwise work with them to make this accommodation easy on them.
Enforcing the “no outside food” rule usually falls on the people making the least money. If you approach this from the perspective of “hey we’re both in kind of a shitty situation here, I just want to eat and not shit my pants for hours or asphyxiate or whatever,” then usually things will go pretty easily. Every once in a while you’ll run into a total dick and you’ll have to go over their head, but… usually you won’t need to as long as you prepare the way.
[ID: Text that reads: “The ADA will allow you to bring your own gluten-free food to places where safe food won’t be available. Professional mediators helped to decide a case in New Hampshire involving a tour train operator that refused to allow a passenger with food allergies to bring her own food. Ultimately, the tour train operator revised its policies to make them more accommodating to people with allergies.” /End ID]
As election anxiety continues to grip the United States, I felt like I had to say something, because I see so many people posting about how, “no matter who wins, we’ll all be okay, and the reality is, for a lot of people, that simply isn’t true.
It’s been four years, and there are still so many people who think that my objections and concerns about the current administration are simply a matter of politics, a matter of red versus blue, and right versus left, and that’s not the reality.
So here’s the truth, at least from my perspective. I’m not upset because you disagree with me. I’m not upset or fearful over politics.
I’m anxious, upset, and afraid because my ability to live freely and authentically in this world seems to be up for debate every time we have an election, or appoint a new Supreme Court justice, and, frankly, it’s exhausting.
For many marginalized people this election was never about "politics ”, or “differences of opinion”, it was about our right to live in the world as our authentic selves, and our very ability to survive.
#DisabilityDayOfMourning - Today we remember our disability kin killed by their parents/family/guardians because they’re seen as a “burden” or to “release them”. That’s murder & too often there’s no justice. But I would also like to ask people to be aware of caregiver-neglect. And yes, caregiver-neglect often means parents & loved ones too. This is what nearly killed me & I didn’t say anything because I felt trapped & didn’t see a way out. Until my sister gave me one. But if she hadn’t noticed I needed help, I never would have said anything. I thought living with my mom* was my only choice, that she was the only person willing to take care of me. & that I had to live with neglect & abuse as it slowly killed me because I had no resources to get out & didn’t know where to turn.
If you see a disabled person in a bad situation, talk to them, offer to help them find resources. (Please don’t just call protective services - that’s stepping on their autonomy & could make the situation worse. Only report it if the disabled person is unable to communicate their wishes to you through some form of communication) - Otherwise you can talk to us, ask us what we need, help us get it. Show us there are options, that we don’t have to live with an abuser & be neglected to death.
Because sometimes they kill us outright, but other times it’s slow & torturous - while we too often listen to people around us say what a saint our caregiver is for carrying the burden of us & it makes us feel like there is no one we can turn to, to say “I think I’m dying. I think they’re killing me.”
Remember us today, help us every day.
-
*the fact that my mom was mentally & physically ill herself doesn’t change that I suffered & nearly died. It might not have been 100% her fault, but I still suffer the c-ptsd from it everyday.
if ur ever considering making a post being like: “when you’re x kind of disabled you get treated well but if you’re the kind of disabled I am you get treated poorly”, please consider: they hate all of us.
I think it’s notable that both panic about vaccines causing autism and panic about trans children suffering “rapid onset gender dysphoria” rely specifically on *parents’ perceptions and narratives of their children*. Turning “mother knows best” into an epistemological framework lol
Self-determination is a privilege we only extend to abled adults. Children’s rights now, disabled people’s rights now.
I saw the phrase “Rapid Onset Parents Knowing About It” on twitter something like… two weeks ago? And that lives in my head rent-free now.
TL;DR for y’all, she has a spinal injury that requires special support. After her chair was damaged beyond repair in the cargo hold, she was left stranded in the airport for five hours without proper support for her injury. She was given a loaner chair by the airlines, who refused to buy her a new chair, claiming hers was repairable. Over the next FOUR MONTHS without an adequate replacement, she developed exacerbation of her spinal injury requiring multiple hospitalizations, and skin ulcers from the chair she was given. The skin ulcers became gangrenous and spread to her pelvis and hip, which had to be surgically removed. Yes. part of her pelvis. had to be removed. However, the infection had already spread and become systemic, leading to her death on Oct 31st, less than four months after her chair was damaged.
also from the article: it is estimated that 29 mobility devices are destroyed or damaged EVERY DAY. and I’m going to assume those are only the ones that are REPORTED.
My mom has worked in the airline industry for three decades; I had no idea it was anywhere near this bad. Please be an advocate for your disabled friends and family, and support their concerns when they say no, actually. this isn’t okay.
The screenshot above says:
“Following the July incident, a United spokesperson said that the company apologized to Figueroa and was working to reach a resolution with the repair company. The Department of Transportation estimates that airlines damage or destroy 29 mobility devices a day.”
Since the site (News Week) the article is hosted on has a limit to views without pay, here is some more of the pertinent information shown in it and the related links inside of it, for the sake of convenience.
This is a featured tweet in the article, from the president and CEO of the American Association for People with Disabilities (AAPD), Maria Town.
Image Description:
Tweets by Maria Town, with a link to a different article from Domestic Employers organization, with the preview image being a photo of Engracia Figueroa - a smiling black woman with dark brown skin and coily black and grey hair.
The tweets say the following, “ “Engracia Figueroa, a fierce advocate for people with disabilities, passed away on Sunday due to complications from injuries she sustained when United Airlines destroyed her custom wheelchair last July.” #FlyingWhileDisabled #Disability
United broke Engracia’s wheelchair and refused to replace it. The loaner chair the airlines provided to Engracia did not support her properly. Her skin broke down, became infected, and she died. 2/3
How many hospitalizations and deaths have resulted from airlines inaction and indifference to this issue? Thank you@HiHemployers for your advocacy and for sharing this tribute. Rest In Peace and Power, Engracia. You deserved so much more. 3/3”
End of Image Description
Image Description:
Screenshots from the News Week article by Toria Branhart and the Domestic Employers Org article by Blithe Riley, about the passing of Engracia Figueroa.
A photo of Engracia Figueroa, a black woman in a custom motorized wheelchair, and an accompanying member of the “Hand in Hand” activist group and home care worker organization, Christine Laing, a black woman wearing a mask. Engracia is shown speaking in the “Care Can’t Wait” rally in Washington D.C. from July 2021, at the podium.
A quote. “"Mobility devices are an extension of our bodies. When they are damaged or destroyed, we become re-disabled. Until the airlines learn how to treat our devices with the care and respect they deserve, flying remains inaccessible,” the activist said in an interview after the incident.“
“All of us at Hand in Hand are heartbroken, shocked and enraged by Engracia’s needless death. This loss should never have happened. While we are reeling from the layers of injustice this tragedy makes visible, we are holding Engracia’s tenacity and resolve as our guidepost. Lives are at stake in the work that we do, and our current ableist and racist system continues to fail our communities time and time again. We cannot and will not stand by and let these systems of oppression prevail.
We demand that United Airlines end the damage of wheelchairs and assistive devices on its flights and create an accessible process for people with disabilities to travel safely, with dignity. Sign and share our petition here.
Please note: this statement was updated 11/5 after Hand in Hand received more details from Engracia’s lawyer about the extent of her injuries.”
End of Image Description
So in full: Engracia Figueroa was a black disabled working class woman, as well as a worker and disability activist. She died 4 months after her custom motorized wheelchair was destroyed by United Airlines directly after she came back from Washington D.C., where she attended an activist rally where she demanded better conditions for Home Care workers and disabled people.
The broken $30,000 custom motorized wheelchair was a fire hazard and basically unusable. The wheelchair was necessary for her survival, well-being, independence, and ability to work.
Forced to use it while broken in the 5 hours waiting at the airport, resulted in her hospitalization. “Hand in Hand”, “Caring Across Generations”, “Care Can’t Wait Coalition”, their petition, their media campaign, and (later on) Senator Tammy Duckworth’s office demanded United Airlines take further responsibility. The campaign further highlighted the pervasive issues with airlines destroying mobility aids and other necessary devices.
However, by the time United Airlines agreed to replace the $30,000 wheelchair, Engracia succumbed to her worsened condition due to using an inadequate loaner chair they had previously provided in the time they refused to take full responsibility.
“Hand in Hand” organization points towards the unjustness of systemic both ableism and racism having a hand in her untimely death, and encourage people to sign their petition against United Airline’s damaging of assistive devices.
In my personal view (especially as a black disabled person myself), the intersections of ableism, racism, and classism must be acknowledged when discussing this situation.
Again, the full link for the petition of “United Airlines: End the damage of wheelchairs and assistive devices”, made by Home Care Worker’s organization “Hand in Hand”, is here: https://secure.everyaction.com/tUhs-DW8J0qqU2jbZQMrrA2
^^ My previous addition isn’t visible in the reblogs becuase it has links. But basically this was a result of ableism and racism, and I provided more information and a link to a petition that the home worker’s organization she was active in, made and encourage people to sign, to demand an end from United Airlines’ destroying people’s assistive devices.
If you are American, PLEASE SUPPORT THE SSI RESTORATION ACT OF 2021
This new bill has been introduced in both the house and the Senate.
Among other things, it will:
Raise the monthly disability income by just over 30 percent - bringing it to poverty level.
Remove penalties for recieving financial help from friends and family.
Increase the amount of assets a disabled person may have from $2,000 to $10,000 (this hasn’t been updated since 1989)
Update outside income restrictions to allow disabled people to receive up to $399 a month without reducing their benefits.
REWARD, not penalize, people who want to receive additional income while on social security income.
REMOVE THE MARRIAGE BAN YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT THIS WILL REMOVE THE MARRIAGE BAN
For those unaware current regulations do a lot to oppress disabled people. In fact marriage equality doesn’t even extend to disbled people who risk having their benefits reduced or outright taken away if they marry someone. This means that in common law states disabled people can’t even live with their significant other or they risk losing their financial independence.
Current regulations mean that if you’re disbled you can’t have so much as one penny over $2,000 to your name. So buying a car and gaining more independence or freedom is largely out of the question for disabled people.
Current regulations penalize social security recipients who receive income from outside sources, even if those sources are reimbursement. Did you get paid to babysit for a few hours? That’s income, and you get your benefits reduced. Did you loan a friend $10 and they pay you back? The government considers that $10 income, and you get your benefits reduced.
These aren’t mere anecdotes - these are all examples of actual things that have happened to disbled people I know, and if you have any disabled friends in your life I’m sure they can tell you the same stories.
If you value marriage equality, if you value financial independence, if you value the rights of disbled people, please PLEASE support this bill! Contact your reps, vote, and make noise! This is a great thing!
UPDATE: Text SIGN PSLOAE to 50409
Resistbot is hosting a petition for this! They will automatically send letters to your representatives for you!
The Resist Bot process is super easy and fast! Please do this!
An abled friend of mine (whilst listening to me angrily complain about people staring at me) suggested that I start barking at people when they do stare.
And frankly I couldn’t think of a good reason why I shouldn’t just start barking at people who stare. This is the year of me being unhinged.
There is no such thing as being “disabled” enough. You are enough, and you have the right to use whatever aids or supports you require in order to navigate this world.
First image: Black text on a distressed red background that reads “Disability is not a slur.
Second Image: Black text on an orange distressed background that reads "Autism/Autistic is not a slur.”
Third image: Black text on a yellow distressed background. It reads “We need to destigmatize the word disability. It’s not a slur, it’s not a swear word, and it’s not dirty. It’s simply a descriptor/label. But you know what are slurs? Words that actually hurt disabled people? The r-slur, cripple, lame, dumb, handicapable, deranged, deformed, crazy, insane. Most of these are still used as insults. Or equated to something bad.”
Fourth image: Black text on a red distressed background. It reads “Disabled people are already living in a world that was not made for us. A little consideration, even just about word choice, can make all the difference.
Fifth image: Black text on a yellow distressed background. It’s titled ‘Sources’ at the top of the image, which is then followed by a list of sources:
Something that I was unable to mention in the above infographic, the reason that words like insane or crazy are harmful because they reinforce that those are morally awful, horrible things, or at the very least something to be ashamed of. This is inaccurate and it only adds to the saneist propaganda already out there. The same goes for using the words 'blind’ and 'deaf’ in the wrong situations, like saying "Man I’m so deaf hahaha” or “Wow I really must be going blind.”
Appalled at the conditions of Massachusetts’ mental institutions Dix published “Memorial to the Legislature of Massachusetts” in 1843, listing the horrors of every asylum in the state. She went on to be one of the first to advocate for improved asylum conditions. To read about other advocates and a history of disability from pre-1492 to the present, check out Kim Nielsen’s A Disability History of the United States.
