Recommended Reading, July 8

Warning: Offsite links are not safe spaces. Articles and comments in the links may contain ableist, sexist, and other -ist language and ideas of varying intensity. Opinions expressed in the articles may not reflect the opinions held by the compiler of the post and links are provided as topics of interest and exploration only. I attempt to provide extra warnings for material like extreme violence/rape; however, your triggers/issues may vary, so please read with care.

Doug Draper at Niagra at Large: Thorold, Ontario Amputee Has His Artificial Leg Ripped Off By Police And Is Slammed In Makeshift Cell During G20 Summit – At Least One Ontario MPP Calls The Whole Episode “Shocking” [via several sources, thank you!] [Trigger Warning for Description of Police-related violence]

The 57-year-old Thorold, Ontario resident – an employee with Revenue Canada and a part-time farmer who lost a leg above his knee following a farming accident 17 years ago – was sitting on the grass at Queen’s Park with his daughter Sarah and two other young people this June 26, during the G20 summit, where he assumed it would be safe.

As it turned out, it was a bad assumption because in came a line of armoured police, into an area the city had promised would be safe for peaceful demonstrations during the summit. They closed right in on John and his daughter and the two others and ordered them to move. Pruyn tried getting up and he fell, and it was all too slow for the police.

RELATED: Amnesty International: Sign Petition: Independent review of G20 security needed

Mia at Leaving Evidence: Reflecting on Frida Kahlo’s Birthday and The Importance of Recognizing Ourselves for (in) Each Other

I often think about Frida and what it means to recognize each other, as disabled queer women of color. I don’t know if Frida would have described herself as “disabled;” if she would have even used that language, that thinking. Would she have thought of herself as what we understand as “queer,” using whatever language and words she chose around her open bisexuality? I don’t know.

I found Frida when I was young, and it seems I have been continuing to find her my whole life. Frida was originally introduced to me when I was a young teenager as a feminist symbol; as a “strong woman of color artist.” As one of the few non-black woman of color thrown in amongst majority white women, I remembered her. It was only later that I found out she, like me, had polio as a child and about her bisexuality.

Dave Hingsburger: Marching for Respect (See footnote for image & video descriptions) [1. There is a video and two images at this link. The images are of card that reads “Words hit like a fist” with a rainbow background on one side. The other side reads “Walk by any school yard. There are two words that kids hurl at each other. ‘Retard’ ‘Faggot’. Words intended to hurt us simply because we want to ‘be’ who we ‘are’. Words hurt. We all know that. We join in the fight for a society that welcomes all. And besides, what is more ‘gay’ than knowing the real ‘R’ word is ‘Respect’. Join us in eliminating hate from speech. vitacls.org”.

The video description: A Pride Parade held in Toronto. The street is lined with cheering spectators waving their hands. The video opens on people marching with a large banner that says ‘Living in 3D.’ More people walk past holding a variety of signs that are difficult to read because of the poor video quality, and we see a powerchair user motoring along with them. Many of the marchers are wearing rainbow clothing or ornaments and at least one sign says ‘straight but not narrow.’ More people march by and a small bus approaches, with a powerchair user moving alongside. The side of the bus reads ‘Care Toronto: Caring for Seniors and People With Disabilities’ and it has been decorated with a rainbow pride flag. (description by s.e.smith)]

Our goal was to get as many as we could into the hands of those watching the parade. There were millions of people watching. We had to wait for nearly two hours to start marching, so I went up and down the line and found as many marching groups as I could that I thought really could use the cards, teachers federations, summer camps for kids, disability transport services, the works. I approached them, told them who Vita was and what our message was and handed out the cards.

Goldjadeocean: A Data point

Asking for accommodations for disability is a complicated thing. Sometimes it’s easy, it’s simple, it’s understandable. Sometimes, it gets you in even more shit.

I have a mobility impairment. One leg is shorter than the other; my short leg has a small foot that doesn’t fit well into shoes. Walking long distances on uncertain footing (like normal street pavement) stresses my damaged knee, and increases the already-good chances that I will misstep, fall, and damage my weak ankle.

I have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (or, I had it–I no longer meet diagnostic criteria for it). I am generally good unless I am triggered in one of the specific areas my obsessions fall into–gory violent injury, or “creepy crawlies” (insects, arachnids, reptiles, fish). Being triggered, for me, can cause obsessions (repetitive unpleasant thoughts I cannot get rid of), heightened anxiety, or visual and tactile hallucinations.

Federal Court Rules in Favor of Transgender Woman Represented by Lambda Legal After She Was Fired By Georgia General Assembly

Late Friday, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled that the Georgia General Assembly discriminated against Lambda Legal client Vandy Beth Glenn, a transgender woman who was fired from her job as Legislative Editor after she told her supervisor that she planned to transition from male to female.

BendyGirl at Disability Voices: DLA: Clearing Up Confusion

DLA is a NON means tested benefit and this will not be affected by the proposed changes. DLA is a basic recognition that to be disabled means to bear extra, unavoidable costs. DLA is in two parts, a care component and a mobility component. DLA is not an out of work benefit, had they wanted to the Cameron’s would have been entitled to claim DLA for their profoundly disabled son Ivan. Many of those in receipt of DLA work in either full or part time roles, which they would not be able to do so without the extra financial support DLA provides. The costs of disability don’t go away because someone is able to enter the workplace, if anything the costs associated with disability often rise when someone is working as they have less time and energy to deal with daily living tasks than they did when they were not working.

Belleisa at Racialicious: Whose allowed to tell the tale? (And which tales should they tell?)

McFadden argues that many black authors, aside from the few who have crossed over into the mainstream, get relegated to the “seg-book-gation.” She does acknowledge that black writers have an easier time getting published than they used to, although the op-ed slips in and out of preachy academic theory (she mentions colonialism). But her initial argument, about authorial authenticity and which authors get the better marketing support for the same types of stories, takes a quick dive into condescension.

If you’re on Delicious, feel free to tag entries ‘disfem’ or ‘disfeminists,’ or ‘for:feminists’ to bring them to our attention! Link recommendations can also be emailed to recreading[@]disabledfeminists[.]com

About Ouyang Dan

is an extremely proggy-liberal, formerly single mommy, Native American, invisibly disabled, U.S. Navy Veteran, social justice activist and aspiring freelance writer currently living in South Korea on Uncle Sam's dime. She has a super human tolerance for caffeine and chocolate and believes she should use those powers for good. She said should. She is not a concise person, and sometimes comes on a little aggressively in comments. Sometimes her right arm still twitches when military brass walks past her, but she would rather be reading YA Lit or pwning n00bs. She can be found being cliche about music, overthinking pop culture, and grumbling about whatever else suits her fancy at her personal website, random babble.... She also writes about military issues for Change.org's Women's Rights blog. If you have something interesting to say email her at ouyangdan [at] disabledfeminists [dot] com. Lawyers in Italy looking to hold lottery winnings in her bank account may wait longer for reply.

One thought on “Recommended Reading, July 8

  1. That first link is shocking. We need everyone to sign the petition.

    My daughter was one of the detainees, and a young man I was temporary guardian for was also detained. They are both minors who were put in cages with adults. (Yes, they were kept in cages.)

    My daughter has a fainting condition exacerbated by stress and dehydration, and when she was ill and started throwing up they put her in a port-a-potty. No medical treatment. No water. No phone call to her parents.

    Here are more links:http://torontonamo.com/

    Please, sign the petition. I hope the man in the first link sues.

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