Category Archives: Disabled Rights & Issues

The idea of a cure doesn’t offend me. The idea that I ought to be waiting or looking for that cure is offensive.

In another thread, Ender left this comment: I’m planning on going into neurocognitive/computational research, which has or could have medical applications (amongst many other computer technology applications). My question then is, do people that are called “disabled” or “handicapped” not … Continue reading

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Switched At Birth’s “Uprising” Episode – The Best Political TV Show Of The Year

The “ABC Family” network, owned by Disney after beginning life as one of Pat Robertson’s properties, [1. ABC Family is still contractually obligated to broadcast Robertson’s show “The 700 Club” twice daily, although they precede it with a disclaimer.] has … Continue reading

Posted in Disabled Rights & Issues, Popular (and unpopular) culture | Comments Off  

Three Updates on the Gallaudet University Story

1) Angela McCaskill, the suspended Gallaudet University Diversity Officer at the heart of this story, is being used in an anti-same-sex marriage TV ad. According to CBS news, “McCaskill’s attorney says his client would like the ad to stop running,” … Continue reading

Posted in Disabled Rights & Issues, In the news, Same-Sex Marriage | Comments Off  

Know-Nothing Ablebodied People Suspect Disability Is A Scam

The CBS headline says it all: “Scammers Using Wheelchairs To Skip Airport Lines Legally.” “When [travelers] see that the line is so long, they just ask for a wheelchair,” Evelyn Danquah, an attendant for Delta Air Lines, told the Times. … Continue reading

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Health care and non-compete agreements

[Written by Kay Olson, and crossposted from The Gimp Parade with Kay’s kind permission]. Two years ago this week I got caught up in a legal dispute that briefly threatened my life. Obviously, I’m still alive, but a version of … Continue reading

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Fair is fair: Kindergarten and the American Dream

Kindergarten showcases many basic principles which most of us learn there or at our parents’ knees:  take turns, share the toys, fair is fair, and so on.  Later on, “fair is fair” gets refined in many ways, one of which … Continue reading

Posted in Class, poverty, labor, & related issues, Conservative zaniness, right-wingers, etc., Disabled Rights & Issues, Education, Elections and politics, Social Security, Uncategorized | Comments Off  

Deconstructing Sheri Tepper’s 2008 Interview with Strange Horizons

So, someone asked me what was so offensive about Tepper’s interview. After reading her comments, I’m convinced that it might actually be helpful to some people if I did a deconstruction. I don’t usually fisk things because it’s a format … Continue reading

Posted in Abortion & reproductive rights, Class, poverty, labor, & related issues, Disabled Rights & Issues, Environmental issues, Feminism, sexism, etc, International issues, Islamaphobia, literature, Race, racism and related issues | Comments Off  

Those damn, hypersensitive minorities

A letter from 1943 about hypersensitive black people: We feel you may be inviting trouble if you use colored characters in the comic at this time. Experience has shown us that we have to be awfully careful about any comics … Continue reading

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Microaggressions

My wife pointed me to an excellent, if infuriating, blog last night, and I was up until 2 AM reading through it. Microaggressions is a blog about the little daily fuck-yous that populate the world if your race, gender, ethnicity, … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Class, poverty, labor, & related issues, Colonialism, crossposted on TADA, Disabled Rights & Issues, Fat, fat and more fat, Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer issues, Links, Race, racism and related issues, Whatever | Comments Off  

The Race and Class of Schizophrenia

Back in January, Nojojojo made a post on her livejournal that I found insightful. I asked her for permission to share it with Alas readers which she granted–and I apologize for not getting to it before now. Nojojojo quotes Melissa … Continue reading

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