Category Archives: Disabled Rights & Issues

Happy New Year!

So it’s the time of New Year’s resolutions (and if you live in Wellington grumbling about the weather).* The newspapers didn’t have much copy over the last couple of weeks, so they were full of: “50 ways to be healthier … Continue reading

Posted in Disabled Rights & Issues, Fat, fat and more fat | Comments Off  

Ableism in Workshop Advice: "There are Worse Things Than Death…"

There’s something that gets bandied about a lot in workshops when people are talking to newbies. “You don’t have to kill your characters to up the stakes,” they say. “There are worse things that can happen to people than death.” … Continue reading

Posted in Disabled Rights & Issues, literature | Comments Off  

Why Not to Use the Word Lame: I Think I'm Starting to Get It

Another progressive blogger and I have had a few discussions about how we don’t see the word “lame” as really a big deal. However, we both concluded, it wasn’t really our fight and the stakes weren’t as high for us … Continue reading

Posted in Disabled Rights & Issues | Comments Off  

New Jersey Man Beaten By Cops For "Wandering" While Black

From WPIX: PASSAIC, N.J. (WPIX) – A police officer in New Jersey, captured on surveillance tape viciously beating a mentally ill man, has been reassigned while an investigation into the incident is underway. Passaic cop Joseph J. Rios III, a … Continue reading

Posted in Disabled Rights & Issues, Prisons and Justice and Police, Race, racism and related issues | Comments Off  

Ableist Language – replacement suggestions from the Hand Mirror

Ampersand and I have periodically discussed the issue of ableist language. We’d both like to do better about purging some of the words that infest our vocabulary. In particular, the word “lame” has a tendency to creep into our statements, … Continue reading

Posted in Disabled Rights & Issues | Comments Off  

Fox's "Glee," the stereotyping of fat black women, and making friends with the loser kid in the wheelchair

I’m getting sick of the-popular-kids-are-better-at-geek-stuff-than-the-geeks trope, which stinks of noblesse oblige. And there are a zillion other things wrong here. But I’ll still be giving this show a try, because I’m that much of a sucker for anything resembling a … Continue reading

Posted in Disabled Rights & Issues, Fat, fat and more fat, Popular (and unpopular) culture, Race, racism and related issues | Comments Off  

Some parents complain that disabled TV host "scares children"

From The Independent: Disparaging comments by adults about a children’s presenter have led to an angry backlash in support of Cerrie Burnell, the 29-year-old CBeebies host who was born missing the lower section of her right arm. One man said … Continue reading

Posted in Disabled Rights & Issues, In the news | Comments Off  

Captioning Online Video: Government Regulation Is Called For

Joe Clark argues that the only way we’re going to get good captioning of online videos is if government steps in and regulates. Agree or disagree, it’s an interesting essay about a problem that — frankly — I haven’t thought … Continue reading

Posted in Disabled Rights & Issues | Comments Off  

Helplessness and the Medical Establishment

Another of my fumbling attempts to write about disability: I have disabling depression. When I’m not medicated, I have constant panic attacks. Leaving the house is an enormous effort. This wasn’t always true — I have had problems with depression … Continue reading

Posted in Disabled Rights & Issues | Comments Off  

McCain can't use a computer because he's disabled

Hiya everyone! Remember me? I haven’t been blogging much in past months — just rather random posts at my own blog — but I’m hoping to get back to writing and participating here again. Starting with this latest, crossposted. About … Continue reading

Posted in Class, poverty, labor, & related issues, Disabled Rights & Issues, Economics and the like, Elections and politics | Comments Off