Recommended Reading, July 5

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.

Blog Posts:

Katja at Broken Clay: Denise Through the Looking Glass

Let me start by saying that entering the world of disability (or alternative mobility) is a little like going through the looking glass, or moving to a foreign country. And like moving to a foreign country, things will work out better if you do some research in advance.

Tasha Fierce at Red Vinyl Shoes: Out of the (Gene) Pool: Disability and Biological Children:

People seem to think that when you have a disability that you could possibly pass down to a child, it’s their business to recommend that you refrain from having children. This is often disguised as fake concern for the well-being of the potential child-bearer, such as in cases where medication would have to be stopped due to the risk of harming the child in utero. Or, maybe they feel that it would be wrong for you to continue a bloodline that is tainted with disability, so they just have to speak up. Never mind that plenty of people who don’t personally have a disability are carriers of genes that may lead to disability. Disabled minds and bodies are viewed as acceptable topics of casual conversation, and your personal medical and life decisions are subject to critique and judgment. Basically, you’re a bad person if you make the decision to have a child despite the chance it will be defective like you.

SeekingFerret: [No Title]

But that wasn’t what I heard. I heard a Christian put a Jew on the defensive by reminding her that no matter how high she reaches, she still will be a minority in this country. I heard Senator Schumer, another Jew rendered uncomfortable by the question, jump in quickly to explain away the joke, to make sure it wasn’t taken the wrong way. I heard a nasty question, inadvertent or not, handled with a reasonable amount of tact by way of a reflexive display of “New York humor.”

And just once, I’d like to see this addressed for what it is. A minor but still noxious form of antisemitism. Jews are “allowed” to be funny. It’s one of the designated defense mechanisms they haven’t taken away from us. But they look down on us for it, sneer at the Jewish sense of humor and how nasty and edgy it is.

TorontoEmerg at Those Emergency Blues: Blatchford Bashes Health Care and Misses the Point [Part II]

This is the elephant in the room that no one will talk about: providing proper care for seniors is going to take significant and sustained expenditures now and into the future. In short, good care for seniors = higher taxes. I’m sure it will be a very cold day on Satan’s front porch before you would see Christie Blatchford, or even the editorial apparatus of the Globe and Mail, argue for that.

Daniel at Different Spokes: Travel Log: Shame On You, Savannah, GA!

During the second leg of our trip, we ventured to historic Savannah, Ga. to take in the sights. Beware, disabled travelers: do not take a trolley tour of Savannah! Not only was the fleet of trolleys not fully accessible (the one we used had no lift), but there was not even a place to put my wheelchair once Derin lifted me into my seat. We ended up taking the chair apart and storing it at our feet. Even more horrifying was the driver asking if I wanted to just leave my wheelchair with the ticket agent and pick it up once we returned. She failed to mention that the trolley lets off sightseers in a different part of town than it picks them up; So I’d be trying to tour the city without my chair…brilliant.

Access Tourism New Zealand: Catering for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Makes Good Business Sense

During Deaf Awareness Week (28 June – 4 July 2010), the UK Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) is reminding businesses, shops, and services to seize the opportunity to expand their customer base by ensuring they are fully accessible to the 9 million people in the UK who are deaf or hard of hearing. This includes businesses in the tourism, hospitality, and travel sector. RNID is the largest charity in the UK working on hearing loss

Petitions:

Toronto Call: No More Police State Tactics

We the undersigned call for:
1. The immediate release of all those detained
2. A full campaign to defend the civil rights of those facing charges arising from this extraordinary policing regime, especially those facing excessive charges and/or punitive bail conditions that criminalize, limit mobility, and curtail rights in the long term.
3. An independent public inquiry into police actions during the summit, including disclosure on the role of police infiltrators leading up to and during events, and the chain of command for the extraordinary crackdown on legal rights and protests.
4. An end to the targeting of anarchists by the Conservative government and the police.
5. The resignation of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair

News Media:

Canada: CBC [Mainstream Media] : New resource aids families after youth suicide

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.

3 thoughts on “Recommended Reading, July 5

  1. Since I can’t comment on the Kagan post there, is it okay if I talk about it here?

    When I saw it on the Daily Show, my jaw dropped. double you tee eff, man.

    I guess because one female Senator had talked about Twilight before starting the questioning, it was okay… except he starts talking about the Christmas (would be) bomber?

    So this means that if the next nominee for whatever is Christian, they’ll ask them what they did for Passover?

  2. I saw the clip where they asked her “are you Team Edward or Team Jacob” or whatever nonsense that was, and my jaw dropped, because WTF does that have to do w/ a confirmation hearing?

    And that question had nothing to do w/ the would be X-mas bomber, and had everything to do w/ Othering Kagan.

    FTR, if I am ever up for public office, I also like to spend X-mas day in Chinese restaurants with my Jewish friends. It’s a tradition we have had since I joined the Navy and left home. Anyone who doesn’t celebrate the day for whatever reason is always welcome. We use it as a day of inclusion while we have been separated from our families. It was kind of nice to see that Kagan does it too. Or at least says she does.

  3. I think she said she did as a reflex, because if she’d said, “Sir, with all due respect, that’s none of your business” the media would be all over it – attacking her for being disrespectful.

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