Disability Blogger Link-Up

It's been a hectic couple of weeks, if you take any interest in politics. So again, I am "outsourcing" the blogging to all of you this weekend. Post your stuff using the thingy below.

If you are new to this, click here to see previous Disability Blogger Link-Ups.

As always, to make the links easier for visitors to browse, in the “Your name” blank, please type the title of the article you are posting. In the "Your URL" blank, paste the URL address of the item. Like this:

Name = Title of your article.
Your URL = Link to your article.

Then click the "Enter" button. That's it!

This Link-Up will close at Midnight Eastern on Sunday. The next Disability Blogger Link-Up will start Friday, August 12, 2016.

Throwback Thursday

Two years ago in Disability Thinking: The Guaranteed Income Idea
July 28, 2014

This idea just keeps getting more credible and attractive, especially for disabled people. I would suggest something more like $1,500 - $1,800 per month, along with free health insurance that covers any needed medications, equipment, and home care. This would be regardless of past or current employment status, income, or savings. As some peoples' income got higher, of course, more and more of it would be paid back in income taxes, but there would be no formal time or dollar amount cutoff. It’s hard to be objective about this, but it really does sound both practical and ethically sound. Maybe we should think about getting a detailed proposal like this put together in time for the 2020 elections.

One year ago in Disability Thinking: Keep Your Eyes On The UK
July 28, 2015

On the other hand … does it make sense to talk about raising benefits when drastically cutting them is entirely on the table? I am relieved that UK-style austerity hasn’t really been much of an issue in the U.S. elections, especially in the disability sphere. It could still come up of course. I could see Donald Trump scapegoating “scroungers” and people with “fake” disabilities. But I think it’s just as likely he will at some point support the vague idea of an increase in benefits for disabled people, without any details at all. As long as he gets to define who he counts as disabled … the good, sympathetic, hard-working disabled, not the weirdos and activists … I think Trump would find it rather easy to promise some goodies to make up for his mocking incident. I’m not saying it's likely, and I wouldn't bet on it, but it could happen.

Sagamihara

I want to write about the intentional murder, by planned, methodical stabbing, of 19 disabled people, in a “facility” in Sagamihara, Japan, by a former worker at that facility. I want to write about it, but I don’t want to just repeat everything so many others in the disability community have already said. So, here is a list of links to the articles, essays, and blog posts I have read so far:

#CripTheVote: Violence & Disability
Alice Wong, Storify - July 25, 2016

Note: This Twitter chat happened before the incident in Japan, but it couldn’t be more relevant to it.

Ableism is not “bad words.” It’s violence
Lydia Brown, Autistic Hoya - July 25, 2016

Ableism is Deadly: Mass Murder in Japan
William Peace, Bad Cripple - July 26, 2016

Violence, Disability, and the Lessons of Sagamihara
David Perry, Pacific Standard - July 26, 2016

Japan, Hate and 12 days
Dave Hingsburger, Of Battered Aspect - July 26, 2016

This Is What Disability Erasure Looks Like
Emily Willingham, Forbes - July 27, 2016

Ableism, Violence, and Sagamihara
Alice Wong, Disability Visibility Project - July 27, 2016

I will add this …

I think one reason why neither news media nor social media really seemed to know what to do with this massacre is that there's a certain idea people have about ableism, or disability-based prejudice.

It’s the idea that ableism is somehow a less severe form of prejudice that comes more from ignorance, unfamiliarity, and bad social habits than from real fear, superiority, or hate. It's a comforting idea, because it suggests that there is a simple solution to ableism … not easy to accomplish maybe, but easy to imagine. It’s the idea that ableism can be fixed by better, more refined etiquette.

Certainly, education and awareness can help with the most common and merely annoying aspects of ableism. You might be able to get some people to stop saying unintentionally upsetting things about disabled people. Most people disapprove of being mean to disabled people. That’s why Donald Trump’s juvenile mockery of a disabled reporter’s unusual voice, appearance, and movements is such a political winner for Democrats. However, the roots of ableism are much deeper and insidious than personal insensitivity, and more harmful by far than hurting disabled peoples’ feelings. Ableism is based, in part, on a belief that disabled people don’t belong. We are defective. We are untidy. We get in the way. We demand more than our share. We make people sad.

Even when we are praised, it’s usually because we have managed to overcome these supposedly inherent flaws to become less disabled, less what we are, and more what people are supposed to be like. That leaves the underlying premise unquestioned.

As several of the writers linked above note, terrible acts like what happened in Japan this week can’t be dealt with straightforwardly because most people hold some of the very same beliefs that motivated this man, even if they don’t act on them as he did. The man was apparently regarded as “insane” and briefly hospitalized, not because he believed as he did, but because the social norms that usually keep these views in check were not working with him. He is now easily dismissed as an anomaly ... horrifying, but unique. This allows his fundamental view of disability to go mostly unexamined, and allows everyone else to view his actions as having no broader meaning, no message other than “Dear gracious me!”

His actions do have broader meaning. His beliefs are quite common, even though for most people they are diluted and fleeting. I am not worried that attacks like this will start happening all over the world now … though that is a possibility. I am more worried that the beliefs about disability that motivated them will continue to generate less spectacular acts that are, in aggregate, even more harmful and far more commonplace.

We all need to realize that ableism is just as bad as every other ‘-ism’. Ableism isn’t different, or special, or only about lack of courtesy. As William Peace says in his blog post linked above says, "Ableism is deadly." It is deadly even when it doesn’t actually kill.

*Note: I got the illustration above from the Twitter account of Carly Findlay @carlyfindlay. I don't know where she got it, but it seemed massively appropriate.

Talk To Your Disabled Kids About Politics

Once again, I am putting my Three Threats To Disabled People Today series on hold until after a convention, this time the Democratic Party Convention. While these threats are very much in the news, at least for the disability community, my thoughts are all on the election right now.

I am prompted today to address parents of kids with disabilities. I just read a Facebook post by J.W. Wiley, director of the Center for Diversity, Pluralism, and Inclusion at Plattsburgh State University, here in Plattsburgh, New York. He says:

“Parents, I highly recommend that you sit your kids down and introduce them to the political process by making sure they watch/listen to some of the political speeches, both Republican and Democratic.”

Click here to read his whole post.

This goes double for parents of kids with disabilities.

My parents happen to have been passionate about politics, so they didn’t have to make an effort to introduce me. I couldn’t help being exposed to politics from an early age. Most people aren’t naturally interested in politics, though, and most parents of disabled kids have a thousand other things to think about, so I worry that for that reason alone, they may let politics slide for too long with their disabled kids.

On top of all the understandable practical distractions, some parents may also think that their kids’ disabilities make politics inaccessible to them, that politics and political philosophy aren’t important, or will be incomprehensible to them. Peoples’ understanding and ways of processing information and ideas do vary, but I believe it’s extremely dangerous to assume that politics are irrelevant to kids with disabilities. If anything, they need all the time available to them to learn about the political process and what it means for them as disabled people … as people who will will one day be disabled adults for whom disability rights laws, the structure of disability support programs, and life and death issues like health care, employment, and law enforcement are absolutely critical.

While politics can be disheartening and corrupt, political activism can also be an enormous source of personal empowerment and community for disabled people. Activism isn't for everyone, but for many disabled people, activism is a path to pride, self-confidence, and the assertion of personal rights and agency. Parents on their own can only do so much to give these things to their disabled kids. We need other sources. Most of us need, if you will, second families, second communities to fully develop our potential. Politics and activism are viable, well-mapped pathways to those to full citizenship for kids, youth, and adults with disabilities.

Above all, politics and activism are avenues for service. They aren't therapy for disabled people, though involvement can certainly be therapeutic. They are necessary elements of a better future and better government in our society. "Nothing about us without us" isn't just about the benefit to disabled people themselves. Disability policy gets better for our country when disabled people make and influence disability policy. All those laws, policies, and practices that make you mad, that you wish were different? They can be different if your kids with disabilities grow up and make them better, alongside their brothers and sisters in the disability community.

So please, watch convention speeches and debates with your disabled children. Discuss politics and your views in their presence. Take them with you when you vote. And when they come of age, make sure they’re registered. Politics are more important for them, because of their disabilities, not less.

By the way: Check out #CripTheVote, just one of the many, many disability activist communities of all shapes, sizes, and flavors that you and your kids can use to start your conversations.

Weekly Reading List

Why Autism Training for Law Enforcement Doesn't Work
Kerima Cevik, The Autism Wars - August 26, 2014

Obviously, this blog post has been around for awhile, but I only saw it and read it a couple of days ago. It makes the strongest case I have seen so far that better police training isn't the answer to police killings of racial minority and disabled citizens. I really struggle with this. For one thing, I used to do disability awareness training for a local police academy when I ran the local Center for Independent Living. It's not pleasant to think that my efforts might have been futile. Second, I still think that training can reduce these incidents. A few cops not shooting because they remember some training about autism, cerebral palsy, or Deafness would be a good thing. But, I have come to accept that the problem isn't that police officers don't know enough about specific disabilities, it's that broader police culture has been especially adversarial and punitive for many years now. And one thing that mindset does is overwhelm any other impulses officers might have to wait, be cautious, ask questions, listen, and take the time to assess situations before pulling their guns. That's a much bigger and different project than teaching them to temporarily suspend their usual mode just for suspects who have certain disability conditions.

Quebec comedian ordered to pay $35,000 to disabled boy he mocked
Bertrand Marotte, The Globe & Mail - July 21, 2016

I am thinking about this from, like, 18 angles. It's disgusting that the comedian went after the disabled young man. I suspect the comedian is, on some level, a real asshole ... something like a Twitter troll without Twitter. Also, Mr. Gabriel was in the public eye. He was at least somewhat famous. Plus, he was famous for what we in the disability community would probably call "inspiration porn." It's not the worst thing in the world, but I can imagine a comedic attack that would satirize the practice in a way that would be absolutely worth protecting as free speech with a legitimate message. I suspect that Mr. Ward is using that to defend himself, but probably wasn't being quite so deep and consciously subversive about it. You can question the practice of putting young disabled people up there to elicit uplift, without condemning or attacking the person, who may or may not have had the full choice to be there or control over their depiction. Finally, I find it fascinating and not completely comforting to note that in Quebec, you can sue people for making fun of you, even when it's not actual slander. Part of me thinks that's great, part of me not.

Engaged disabled couple would lose benefits if they wed
Rita Price, The Columbus Dispatch - July 24, 2016

Every so often, the "marriage penalty" gets a small flurry of attention, but it never seems to stay a top-tier issue in disability activism. I'm not sure why. Maybe we're still in an ADA-era where advocating for benefits isn't as cool as fighting for civil rights. Maybe it doesn't affect enough actual people. To me, if nothing else, it seems like exactly the kind of common-sense injustice that non-disabled people can easily understand, so it should be easy to fix, politically. It isn't as fundamental as long term care or, increasingly, not being shot by police, (see above), but it's low-hanging fruit. And the thing about low-hanging fruit is that it's easy to knock down. So why don't we do it?

Useful iOS & Android Apps | Appcessible.org
Appcessible.org

Care.com: Find Child Care, Senior Care
Care.com

These two links aren't for reading, they're for browsing and exploration. The first is a site highlighting mobile apps for people with disabilities. The second is a site where you can find personal care help, or offer personal care services. I don't know if either site is really good or useful, but I think sites like these could be and should be extremely good and useful. If they aren't, we should all be demanding sites like this that are.

Why Haven't I Heard Of Her Before?

I have asked myself questions like this many times since I really got into disability blogging and social media, a little over three years ago.

I hear or read about an interesting, accomplished disabled person others seem to know all about and love, but they're completely new to me. Sometimes that's because they are, compared to me, actually new. They are young in age and have only been doing noticeable things for a few months or a couple of years.

Sometimes, though, it's someone I really should know about, because they have been active and known in the disability community for a long time. Some of these "new" heroes and roles models were doing their thing and becoming known exactly during the time when I was most active in disability activism and organizations.

That was the case yesterday and this morning when I started reading about a Democratic National Convention speaker lots of people were excited about: Anastasia Somoza. In addition to browsing her website, I suggest watching these two videos. Together, they seem to provide a pretty good explanation for why Ms. Somoza will be speaking at the convention, and why there's a good chance speech will make us unambiguously proud.

What do I mean by "unambiguously proud?" What would "ambiguously" proud mean? I think we are ambiguously proud when we're kind of glad to see a disabled person brought to public attention in an appealing way, but we're not sure the messages they are sending are entirely the kind we want sent. It's the difference between being glad for them, and also glad for us.

Since Ms. Somoza is, unfortunately, new to me, I can't say for sure how I will feel after her speech. I am optimistic though, and not just because she's a Democrat. She really seems like the kind of person we as a community really want to be famous, a disabled person who moves beyond their personal story and example to a larger message about disabled people and disability issues.

Update

Due to current events and a change of mind, I am reworking my Three Threats To Disabled People Today series. I’ll get back to it on Tuesday with the 2nd installment, which will focus on a different threat than I had planned to talk about.

Yet Another Blogging Break

This is shaping up to be a busy, chaotic week for me, so I’m going to take another blogging break through at least the end for the week. I will try to pick up the three-part Three Threats To Disabled People Today series on Saturday.

Weekly Reading List

I’ve taken some detours lately from the traditional, mixed-topic Weekly Reading List. We’re back to normal today.

No, I Will Not Agree To Disagree: The Prevalence of Platitudes in Disability Social Justice Discourse
Kim Sauder, crippledscholar - February 21, 2016

I am so glad Kim took on this subject, which is definitely something more than a linguistic pet peeve. I think she’s trying to grapple with the fact that, whether it’s a feature or a bug, there are distinct levels or degrees of difficult in disability discussions. Maybe spheres of disability discussion is a better term. I’ve said it before myself … Lots and lots of disabled people have very little experience and very low comfort discussing disability issues from a social / political perspective. I think in many cases, “Let’s agree to disagree” is a way of saying, “I don’t want to talk about his anymore. It makes me upset and I don’t want to be upset.” Respecting peoples’ upset-ness is a core value of disability culture, so I guess on one level we should respect this. On the other hand, I agree with Kim that its important to explore how to help more disabled people become more comfortable dealing with these difficult, meaty issues.

The Ruderman White Paper: Disability On Television
The Ruderman Family Foundation - July 13, 2016

Almost all disabled TV characters are played by able-bodied actors. Can we fix that?
Bethonie Butler, Washington Post - July 16, 2016

It’s great to see this issue get mainstream coverage … coverage that by and large is not treating it as a fringe topic, but something reasonable observers of popular culture really should take seriously. I also like that the report also includes recommendations on better disability storytelling and characterization. If you’re interested in disability on screen, I also recommend browsing the #FilmDis hashtag on Twitter, an ongoing discussion guided by Dominick Evans @dominickevans.

Workplaces Can Be Particularly Stressful For Disabled Americans, Poll Finds
Yukio Noguchi, National Public Radio - July 13, 2016

The word “stressful” carries a lot of stigma and skepticism these days. I think it has been trivialized enough, mostly unfairly, to make it useless in describing what it’s supposed to mean. In an article like this, about disabled people in the workplace, I take “stressful” to mean much more than the “ordinary” tension, pressure, and mental demands of having a job. What they’re talking about here is stress that’s orders of magnitude more intense, and coming from sources and in varieties that other workers simply don’t have to face. This is another disability issue that needs to be taken seriously, but sometimes isn’t. I really think that’s partly because an older orthodoxy of disability rights is that disabled people can do any work if given a chance … that we won’t have any problems, won’t be “high maintenance,” that we’re strong enough to handle any “stress.” The thing is, that is theoretically true of us as a group, but not true in the same way for every individual one of us. That’s a key distinction, but it can be hard to reconcile with “can-do” disability rhetoric.

Pokemon Go: Developers Drop the Pokeball on Accessibility
Erin Hawley, The Geekygimp - July 13, 2016

This is sort of the perfect example to explain accessibility, because I suspect there are at least a few people, like me, who recognize Pokemon only as the name of a fad from the 1990s … a fad we never did get around to figuring out at the time. So it perfectly illustrates that accessibility is important on principle, regardless of content. It doesn’t matter what thing is or isn’t accessible. To me, you could substitute “Pokemon” with “Didgeridoo” and it amounts to the same thing. The point is, it’s a thing people are doing, having fun with, but it isn’t accessible, and it probably could be. That’s really all you need to know. One more thought: How about, as you try to play Pokemon Go as best as you can, when you do run into barriers, switch apps to something like AXSmap, and enter the accessibility details of the place you are at?

20 Years On: Pride, Power, and Disability Culture
Steven Brown, Institute On Disability Culture - July 8, 2016

I used to be genuinely confused about what a thing called “Disability Culture” might possibly be. I think I thought it had something to do with amateur-written folk songs and bad poetry. Now I see it in a completely different way. It is, in fact, one of the key ideas that helps me conceptualize the way I think about disability. “Disability Community” doesn’t work for me, because I don’t think we are unified enough. But “Disability Culture,” like “Disability Activism” describes the real, identifiable communities I feel I’m a part of, that this blog is a part of, and all the blogs, vlogs, and podcasts I follow. This is a great look back at the progress of Disability Culture.

Weekly Wrap-Up

A couple of weeks of posts at Disability Thinking …

Independence Day
July 4, 2016

Looking Ahead To The 2016 Paralympics
July 5, 2016

Three Threats To Disabled People Today
July 6, 2016

Throwback Thursday
July 7, 2016

Beach Break
July 8, 2016

Three Threats: 1. Populist Backlash
July 11, 2016

Quitting The Podcast … For Now
July 12, 2016

Election Blogging Update
July 13, 2016

Throwback Thursday
July 14, 2016

Disability Blogger Link-Up
July 15, 2016