#social security administration
How A Trump Proposal Could Reduce ‘Happy’ Disabled People
As someone who has experienced disability leave and who technically still has a disability, this piece resonated with me. Here are some highlights:
“The proposal, like many of its policies regarding disabled people, shows a fundamental misunderstanding of disability and takes advantage of how social media operates in order to cut them off from the support they need. Disabled people don’t all function in the same way, and disability is not a set of stereotypes like taking selfies staring longingly at the world. They live lives while managing their energy for the activities they can handle and trying to make those they cannot more accessible.”
“Disabled people should be allowed to share the full scope of their existence without fear they’ll be accused of lying—and even fraud—by the United States Government which will likely reason that if a disabled person is seen going to the mall or taking time to swim or jog, they can be working.”
“The truth about disability is that it isn’t a series of down moments but both highs and lows that comprise the lives of the disabled.”
“This type of policy also plays upon the assumption that people with disabilities all function and move about in the world in the same way, which is entirely untrue.”
On Disability and on Facebook? Uncle Sam Wants to Watch What You Post
First the surveillance state came for the terrorists, and I did not speak out—because I am not a terrorist.
Then it came for those who appear vagely Muslim, and I did not speak out— because I am not a Muslim.
Then it came for impoverished minorities and dissidents, and I did not speak out—because I am white and not a dissident.
And now, Trump and the Republican Party want to expand use of the surveillance state against people with disabilities.
I say this because a lot of Americans believe that the surveillance state–or a form of police state, for that matter–doesn’t exist in this country; that is a myth held by those fortunate enough to not be one of the millions of people who experience America as a surveillance state and/or a police state.
It is incumbent upon all of us to agitate against the further growth of the surveillance state not only for our own interest but for that of our brothers and sisters whose lives are adversely affected by its existence and perpetual growth.
