Disabled people can be a very convenient scapegoat to either be the victim or the villain in just about any social issue. When it comes the environmental causes we have certainly been both. In the often misguided war on single use plastic we are both the villains for needing many single use plastic products. We … Continue reading I Stand With Wet’suwet’en: Don’t Use Disabled People to Shame Protesters
Image description: Geese blocking traffic as though they are a picket line The CUPE 3903 York University strike is not a topic on which I am an expert. I was an active local member throughout the strike that lasted from March 5- July 25 2018. It was a surreal experience not least of all because … Continue reading The Emperor Wore Jorts: An Autopsy of the CUPE 3903 2018 Strike from the Perspective of a Disabled Union Member
Image description: A blond white woman with cerebral palsy stands in a patch of tall grass in a garden outside the Humber River Hospital. She is smiling from her brief reprieve from the Psych ward. Hi Everyone, It's been a while and I'll admit up front I might not be getting actively back into blogging … Continue reading A Long Overdue Update
On Thursday, Rachel Maddow asked "Who campaigns on gutting the American's with Disabilities Act?" in a segment that included no interviews with disabled people. https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/964324763740065792 She asks the question and seems to understand that the answer is "no, one" but she fails to ask or investigate why no one would ever openly say "Send me … Continue reading Why Everyone Thinks that They Care About Disability Rights When They Really Don’t
We live in a world that is fundamentally inaccessible to disabled people. Physical access to public space is still a significant barrier. Social policies also make it difficult for disabled people to participate in society. Yet, these issues rarely make the news unless they are perceived as particularly callous. Consider when Calgary Airport removed wheelchair … Continue reading The Ineffectiveness of Sentiment Masquerading as Disability Solidarity
Today I came across two conflicting news articles, one of them Canadian, the other American. They both deal with the Canadian immigration system but they come to vastly different conclusions. The American article which appeared in the New York Times entitled Canada’s Ruthlessly Smart Immigration Policy, glorifies the Canadian by the numbers immigration system. Conversely, … Continue reading Disability Discrimination and the Glorification of Canada’s “Ruthless” Immigration System
A couple of days ago a meme starting going around Facebook about Mitch McConnell's history of surviving polio The thing is, beyond the fact that McConnell did in fact have Polio as a child, the rest of the text is false. His care was not government funded. He received care at the frankly prestigious Warm … Continue reading No, Mitch McConnell’s Polio Treatment Wasn’t Government funded and it Likely Influenced his views on Healthcare
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