“There are a lot of things you can do right when using an online dating service, but there are also a number of things you can do very wrong! There are things that if you would like to successfully meet another dating4disabledmember you should NOT do. We put together a list of things that you should avoid doing when using an any kind of online matchmaking site….” Read more here
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.
After much story wrangling, we are happy to announce the Table of Contents for Rebuilding Tomorrow! These are the stories that will be included in the anthology, many of which we are announcing today for the first time. So when you pick up your copy of Rebuilding Tomorrow, here is what you can expect to find inside:
“I Will Lead My People” by Janet Edwards
“All the World in Seafoam Green” by Lauren Ring
“Merry Shitmas” by K L Evangelista
“Textbooks in the Attic” by S. B. Divya
“If This Was the Talon” by TJ Berry
“Kids These Days” by Tansy Rayner Roberts
“Ōmarino” by Andi C. Buchanan
“Rhizome, by Starlight” by Fran Wilde
“The Science of Pacific Apocalypse” by Octavia Cade
“The Rest Is” by Stephanie Gunn
“A Floating World of Iron Spines” by Tyan Priss
“Return of the Butterflies” by Emilia Crowe
“Leaving Dreamland” by E. H. Mann
“Nothing But Flowers” by Katharine Duckett
“The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade” by Bogi Takács
And remember, all the stories in Rebuilding Tomorrow feature disabled or chronically ill protagonists!
Concept: an apocalyptic or post apocalyptic tv show centred on a group of disabled protagonists
Must include:
-enough details about how they survive that no one can call it “unrealistic”
-mental and physical disabilities
-a character who isn’t necessarily contributing to the survival of the group, but is not abandoned or looked down upon
-at least one character whose disability is actually less of a problem for them now that the world is ending/ended (example: autistic character who used to be constantly overstimulated but no longer is)
Optional features:
-abled person says “the only disability in life is a bad attitude” and gets told where to stuff it
-character who abled people think isn’t worth helping because of their disability, but actually has at least one skill essential to the survival of the group
-every time an abled person says something ignorant, all present disabled people look into the camera like they’re on the office
- character who only survived the initial apocalyptic event because they had an assistive device which just so happened in that one circumstance to give them an advantage over everyone else
-the abled camp wearing rags and eating meat on sticks cooked over a crude fire. pans over to our heroes and they have perfect clothes, a variety of food and also music.
“what? how did you do that?” “well, jane’s special interest is the medieval production of cloth and, like 8 of us can sew. Turns out those of us who can’t go out much develop a LOT of hobbies.”
A character who scares everyone when a zombie bites them but literally every one of their limbs are amputated.
“They…. they bit Gina.”
*Gina pulls of prosthetic arm* “It’s ok guys! They just got my decoy.”
(vibrates at the speed of sound)
I love this a normal amount
Defying Doomsday is an anthology of apocalypse fiction featuring disabled and chronically ill protagonists, proving it’s not always the “fittest” who survive – it’s the most tenacious, stubborn, enduring and innovative characters who have the best chance of adapting when everything is lost.
In stories of fear, hope and survival, this anthology gives new perspectives on the end of the world, from authors Corinne Duyvis, Janet Edwards, Seanan McGuire, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Stephanie Gunn, Elinor Caiman Sands, Rivqa Rafael, Bogi Takács, John Chu, Maree Kimberley, Octavia Cade, Lauren E Mitchell, Thoraiya Dyer, Samantha Rich, and K L Evangelista.
*reblogs this version again in case you haven’t seen it*
SoRebuilding Tomorrow, the sequel to Defying Doomsday is on Kickstarter RIGHT NOW (running over August 2020). You can also pick up a copy (ebook or paperback) of Defying Doomsday if you haven’t already.
[Image description: Book cover. In the foreground is a woman with brown curly hair, sitting in a futuristic wheelchair and holding a flowerpot with a seedling in it on her lap. In the background is an overgrown city in ruins. The title text reads “Rebuilding Tomorrow” and in smaller font “edited by Tsana Dolichva”.
Since we announced Rebuilding Tomorrow last year, the world has seen a lot have of changes. It took us a little while to work through how we want to deliver Rebuilding Tomorrow and we’re excited to be sharing that news with you first.
In August, we will be running a Kickstarter campaign to fund a portion of the production costs for Rebuilding Tomorrow. You will be able to back for the ebook, paperback and/or exclusive hardcover editions plus all sorts of other goodies. So mark your calendars (or keep an eye out for our next reminder email)! The Kickstarter campaign will be running form 1-31 August. And we really appreciate your ongoing support for this project and in helping us to make it happen.
In the meantime, we hope you and your loved ones are staying safe in these turbulent times.
[Image: Three figures at night, caught in a searchlight shining from a destroyed cityscape. There are a child and adult holding hands, and a taller figure walking with arm crutches.]
Defying Doomsday Apocalypse-survival fiction with disabled and chronically ill protagonists
Hey all—Editor Diane here.
Look, with the world the way it is… I’ve given a lot of thought to various apocalypses, natural disasters (hellooo Cascadia subduction zone), and war. What would I do? What could I do? I’ve devoured all sorts of apocalypse and dystopian fiction, but I was still left asking, what does doomsday look like for sick and disabled folks? It feels lonely when nobody seems to be talking about it.
This book really filled a need for me. There are very few disabled folks in science fiction (let alone well-developed and represented ones), and to see a character like us is powerful. Even more powerful is to actually see scenarios played out—see the ways disabled folks survive, help, or even die in the apocalypse, just like able-bodied folks see anytime they pick up a dystopian fiction novel. It’s a form of recognition. It’s a form of processing. And it’s a real source of validation.
The stories in this anthology are really fantastic, with an extremely wide range of disability and chronic illness. They don’t all have happy endings (in fact, some of the are really gritty), but they do explore what the apocalypse means to us.
[Image: A digital painting of a person with long hair, cute headband, and utility shoulder belt seated in a futuristic-looking wheelchair and holding a small potted plant. They look at butterflies and plants nearby. Behind them is the grown-over ruins of a city.]
Hey folks, Twelfth Planet Press is at it again! Say hello to Rebuilding Tomorrow, a POST-apocalyptic companion to Defying Doomsday.
They’re currently crowdfunding to make this wonderful idea a reality, so please do help if you can! The eBook version is quite affordable, at ~$7 USD (prices on site are AUD), and although the crowdfunding site Pozible may not be familiar to you, we can confirm that signup and payment is super easy.
The above is the preliminary front cover for our new anthology, Rebuilding Tomorrow. We just had a reveal of the full wraparound cover over at The BookSmugglers, so head over there to check it out in its full glory.
We’re currently crowdfunding Rebuilding Tomorrow, so you can pre-order a copy (or some pins or a mug) over on Pozible and help us make this book a reality!
To recap: Rebuilding Tomorrow will focus on disabled and/or chronically ill protagonists and it will have a post-apocalyptic theme. But! Rather than focussing on survival in the immediate aftermath of an apocalypse, the stories in Rebuilding Tomorrow will be set a significant time after whatever apocalyptic disaster. These will be stories that show society getting back on its feet and people moving past subsistence-level existence into a new, sustainable world, even though it’s one that has been irrevocably changed by an apocalypse.
Concept: an apocalyptic or post apocalyptic tv show centred on a group of disabled protagonists
Must include:
-enough details about how they survive that no one can call it “unrealistic”
-mental and physical disabilities
-a character who isn’t necessarily contributing to the survival of the group, but is not abandoned or looked down upon
-at least one character whose disability is actually less of a problem for them now that the world is ending/ended (example: autistic character who used to be constantly overstimulated but no longer is)
Optional features:
-abled person says “the only disability in life is a bad attitude” and gets told where to stuff it
-character who abled people think isn’t worth helping because of their disability, but actually has at least one skill essential to the survival of the group
-every time an abled person says something ignorant, all present disabled people look into the camera like they’re on the office
- character who only survived the initial apocalyptic event because they had an assistive device which just so happened in that one circumstance to give them an advantage over everyone else
-the abled camp wearing rags and eating meat on sticks cooked over a crude fire. pans over to our heroes and they have perfect clothes, a variety of food and also music.
“what? how did you do that?” “well, jane’s special interest is the medieval production of cloth and, like 8 of us can sew. Turns out those of us who can’t go out much develop a LOT of hobbies.”
A character who scares everyone when a zombie bites them but literally every one of their limbs are amputated.
“They…. they bit Gina.”
*Gina pulls of prosthetic arm* “It’s ok guys! They just got my decoy.”
For those who don’t want to click Tumblr links, it’s called Defying Doomsday, and is edited by Tsana Dolichva and holly Kench.
And if you liked Defying Doomsday, we’re currently crowdfunding a follow-up anthology. Also featuring disabled and chronically ill people living in a post-apocalyptic world, but with a focus on rebuilding society.
We at Twelfth Planet Press are currently crowdfunding a new anthology called Rebuilding Tomorrow. It’s a follow-up to Defying Doomsday, and maintains the theme of post-apocalyptic stories featuring disabled and/or chronically ill protagonists. However, the stories in Rebuilding Tomorrow will be set a significant time after an apocalyptic disaster with characters moving past (or that have moved past) subsistence-level existence into a new, sustainable world, even though it’s a world that has been irrevocably changed by an apocalypse.
We’re crowdfund this book so that we can pay our authors professional rates and make this book happen. We’re using Pozible instead of Kickstarter because we support worker’s rights and have been deeply disappointed in Kickstarter’s attitude towards its employees attempting to unionise. We support Kickstarter United, and hope that they are successful in their endeavours. We know that many of our supporters and readers have been likewise unhappy with Kickstarter’s unsatisfactory response to this issue, and we have chosen to respond the only way we can — by taking our business elsewhere, for now.
OnPozible, you can pre-order Rebuilding Tomorrow as a paperback, hardcover, or DRM-free ebook. You can also bundle it with a copy of Defying Doomsday (and our other recent anthologies) or an enamel pin (we have two designs to choose from!). If we meet our initial funding goal, our first stretch goal is to make an audiobook version of Rebuilding Tomorrow, because we want to make our book as accessible as possible.
Rebuilding Tomorrow is a followup anthology to Defying Doomsday, which was an anthology of apocalypse-survival fiction with a focus on disabled characters. Rebuilding Tomorrow will again focus on disabled and/or chronically ill protagonists but, rather than focussing on survival in the immediate aftermath of an apocalypse, we want stories set a significant time after an apocalyptic disaster. We want stories that show society getting back on its feet and people who have moved past (or are in the process of moving past) subsistence-level existence into a new, sustainable world, even though it’s one that has been irrevocably changed by an apocalypse.
We already have some fantastic stories lined up, but we want more! If you have an apocalypse story featuring a character with a disability, we would love to read it.
Submission Guidelines:
(One of) the protagonist(s) must be a character with a disability or physical impairment, chronic illness, mental illness or neurodiversity etc. We will consider stories with characters experiencing all kinds of disability and illness and hope that submitting authors will be creative with the possibilities.
We feel strongly that disability or chronic illness (etc) should have a frequent (if not daily) impact on the character’s life. For example, a character with a deadly peanut allergy in a world where peanuts have been wiped out by a plague isn’t going to quite cut it. However, we are not looking for issue stories or stories where disability is the sole focus of the narrative.
Some sort of cataclysmic event must have occurred well before the start of the story. We are open to a variety of past events, including apocalypses, alien invasions, devastating war, natural disasters etc. Be creative! The important thing is that these events should be in the past, although characters may still be dealing with some longterm consequences.
We are not interested in fantasy (that means no magic).
Stories can be young adult or adult stories. Graphic themes and content are okay, but we’re not looking for erotica or gratuitous violence.
Stories should be between 2000 and 6000 words in length and submitted in some approximation of standard manuscript format. We will happily accept .rtf, .doc and .docx files.
No reprints, no simultaneous submissions, no multiple submissions.
We want a varied anthology with stories that are fun, sad, adventurous or horrific etc. We are also looking for variety in both characters and worldbuilding. Most of all, we are looking for good quality, well written stories. Note that, while we value #ownvoices stories, we do not require authors to disclose personal information to us.
Some things we already have covered (hard sells to steer away from):
Stories featuring protagonists with upper limb deficiencies
Stories where the central plot involves a happy community being temporarily disrupted by belligerent outsiders
Submissions are open from 1 October 2019 to 23:59 on 31 January 2020 Australian Eastern Standard Time.
Payment will be 8 cents per word (USD) to be paid on acceptance in exchange for First World Publication Rights, with an exclusivity period of 12 months (with the exception of Year’s Best reprints).
[Image: Three figures at night, caught in a searchlight shining from a destroyed cityscape. There are a child and adult holding hands, and a taller figure walking with arm crutches.]
Defying Doomsday Apocalypse-survival fiction with disabled and chronically ill protagonists
Hey all—Editor Diane here.
Look, with the world the way it is… I’ve given a lot of thought to various apocalypses, natural disasters (hellooo Cascadia subduction zone), and war. What would I do? What could I do? I’ve devoured all sorts of apocalypse and dystopian fiction, but I was still left asking, what does doomsday look like for sick and disabled folks? It feels lonely when nobody seems to be talking about it.
This book really filled a need for me. There are very few disabled folks in science fiction (let alone well-developed and represented ones), and to see a character like us is powerful. Even more powerful is to actually see scenarios played out—see the ways disabled folks survive, help, or even die in the apocalypse, just like able-bodied folks see anytime they pick up a dystopian fiction novel. It’s a form of recognition. It’s a form of processing. And it’s a real source of validation.
The stories in this anthology are really fantastic, with an extremely wide range of disability and chronic illness. They don’t all have happy endings (in fact, some of the are really gritty), but they do explore what the apocalypse means to us.
Another of our stories, Did We Break the End of the World? by Tansy Rayner Roberts, is also available to listen to for free via podcast. Check it out here.
Designers, Disabled, and the Lens of Accessibility and Design!
In the field of graphic design, designers have often hovered with several issues related to accessibility. How can they create a design that returns the call of every user? How can they make sure their design is perceived affirmatively by all? These questions and similar ones can be answered if only designers look for the ‘invisibles’ aka the disabled community through the lens of accessibility and graphic design.
