Warning: Offsite links are not safe spaces. Articles and comments in the links may contain ableist, sexist, and other -ist language of varying intensity. Opinions expressed in the articles may not reflect the opinions held by the compiler of the post.
NTs are Weird: Need a Ride
Many politicians in larger urban areas (like Denver) probably pat themselves on the back thinking, “See how progressive we are? We’re doing the bare minimum required by federal law to create an accessible transportation system. So now nobody has the excuse that they can’t get transportation to work or wherever else.” Let’s look at that system’s rules in Denver, though (they aren’t worse or better than most other US cities), if you can’t ride the standard bus (because of cognitive/sensory issues, location of the stop, etc).
Salma Mahbub at Bangladeshi Systems Change Advocacy Network (B-SCAN): An Open Letter of a Person with Disablity, by Sabrina Chowdhury
However, in other countries, the infrastructure and policies mean that the person with disabilities can lead a somewhat normal life and not face many of the problems and discrimination we face in this country. For example, Serina Row, the Manager of the Singapore Muscular Dystrophy Association, is also inflicted with the same condition. However, with the aid of an electric wheelchair, she is able to move around, complete her tasks and go about life as if nothing is wrong. […]
I wanted to start over, but, again, social barriers stopped me. How can a disabled woman, unable to even walk, supposed 2 start a family? My own father could not come to terms with the fact that his disabled daughter would marry.
Visible Woman: My Thoughts and Prayers [compiler’s note: caregiver point of view; interesting to contrast with chronic illness/disability, I think]
And when people say “if there is anything at all I can do?” Yeah, most don’t mean anything really. Particularly not the tough hands on patient care. Certainly when I say it I don’t mean it. It’s hard enough when you are the primary caregiver and can’t avoid it.
Mussa Chiwaula: About Disability and Assistive Devices
I vividly recall how my life was transformed when my parents,after a long time of struggle, finally acquired a wheelchair for me having been carried on the back by my brothers to and from school during the early part of my primary education.It was such a huge relief for my brothers since I was growing and also becoming heavy. […]
The demise of the Malawi Against Physical Disability (MAP) is a classic case in point.MAP manufactures low cost wheelchairs and tricycles that are ideal for the local environment and are given to disabled people throughout the country.
The services of the organisation have now come to a halt because government is reluctant to fund the project and this has resulted in many disabled people facing serious mobility problems such as school drop outs and will even unable some to cast their votes in the forthcoming elections this year thus disfranchising them and pushing them further to the margins of the society.
Bangalore Deaf Information: Hearing-impaired force a hearing
Members of the National Association for the Deaf (NAD) held a demonstration outside the office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) to protest against the denial of allotment of civil services to the three hearing impaired candidates who cleared the all-India civil services examination.
Happy Birthday, Louis Braille! On the “Is Braille Dead?” debate: [has anyone noticed – yes, you probably have – that these debates tend to assume that all blind folks have typical hearing and auditory processing? Not to mention all the non-book applications where audio may be suboptimal, like ATMs.]
New York Times Magazine: Listening to Braille
Blind Access Journal: Listening to Braille [has a copy of the article if the NYT paywall is playing up]
Media Dis & Dat: As “reading” evolves, Braille is pushed aside for audio books
Engadget: Squibble portable Braille interface is clever, beautiful
the comments on the sqibble site are positively heinous. i know i shouldnt look at them. ugh. here’s a less offensive link for the same item
http://www.thedesignblog.org/entry/portable-braille-interface-squibble-lets-blind-access-a-cellphone/
romham:
Often I don’t so much as scroll down to comments before I link; I’m linking to an article (and I don’t endorse them all either), not to a comments thread, and I don’t have unlimited time and energy. I don’t warn on individual links: this is partly because I often haven’t read the comments in the first place, and partly because comments can be left after I accessed the article. I don’t research the moderation policies of the places I link to in these posts.
As fair warning, I’m planning to continue to link to large news sites, mainstream blogs, Youtube videos, and so on, from time to time, as well as to safer spaces.
um. your response to my comment is a bit defensive. im aware of the offsite-links-are-not-safe-spaces thing (it says it right at the top of the page), wasnt asking anyone to scan comments for bullshit, wasnt looking for a warning, and wasnt asking anyone to provide a less ass-tastic link. However, i dont think theres anything remotely wrong with people on here offering alternatives as we come across them like i did, without anyone having to do any work.
romham:
1) No, there is not, in fact, anything wrong with providing another link to another source for an article, if you can do it without the snarky attitude. Telling a blogger at hir own fucking blog that zie is being defensive (or ftr, if anyone is keeping score at home, telling them to ‘step away from the keyboard’, to ‘calm down’ or to ‘relax’ are also right out, for future reference, and will not be treated kindly) is just not proper etiquette. Not here, and not at most feminist blogs that I can think of. It is akin to coming into my house and pissing on my rug.
The rug pulls the room together and that behaviour is likely to get you thrown out.
Telling someone they are being ‘defensive’ skates awfully close to telling hir zie is being hysterical and unreasonable or too emotional. All classic anti-feminist silencing techniques.
2) lauredhel wasn’t being defensive. She was quoting the warning on the post, explaining the umbrella warning, and telling you why a disabled woman might use it. You read way too into it. If you have a complaint with the way we do posts, there is a proper channel for such things. You can email it to administrator [at] disabledfeminists [dot] com. You don’t have to muck up the comments with it.
Consider yourself warned.
Moving on.
fair enough, no rug pissing intended at all. i apologize.