Sweet Perdition

Mom and I are planning a trip to DC to visit my aunts, and I’d hoped to be there for ADAPT’s 25th anniversary. (It didn’t work out–sigh). Members are celebrating in Washington DC, with a fun run, a dinner, film screenings….and actions.

“At least 20 disabled activists, most of them in wheelchairs, were arrested outside Sen. John McCain’s offices Tuesday after being refused a meeting with the GOP presidential nominee-to-be over a bill to expand Medicaid coverage to more people who want in-home care.” [from Laurie Kellman, "Disabled group members arrested at McCain's office"]

The bill in question is S. 799, also known as the Community Choice Act of 2007. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both support it. I couldn’t find anything from either John McCain or Ron Paul about it.

Go, ADAPT!

“My freedom ends where your safety begins.”
           –how a teacher explained freedom
           of speech in my 7th grade Government class

I’m a big believer in safe spaces. Having to navigate somewhere that isn’t my house takes a lot of effort; I only noticed just how much effort once I left school and stopped having to spend 6 hours a day in a strange-to-me place. But I’ve always felt most comfortable in my house–my bedroom, especially. Maybe that’s why I like stories about people trying to protect their homes from outsiders.

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"Why didn’t you tell me?" my mother says.

When I was very young, I had a book called Stranger Danger. It told me not get in cars with adults I didn’t know, especially if they offered me candy. It told me to tell an adult I did know if such a person ever tried to get me in their car, or touched me "in any way that was uncomfortable." It had pictures of shadow-men in fedoras and trenchcoats.

I met no strangers, no shadows, no men. But I knew a girl.

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Cue your best Wayne Campbell voice! Thanks very much to Venus of Venus Speaks, who gave me an Excellent Blog award:

[Image description: A rectangle placed vertically, with black margins and a white center. The top margin says "Excellent" in white letters. The bottom margin says "This Blog is Rated E for Excellent," also in white letters. In the white center is a black "E," tilted].

Sweetness!

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The Angry Black Woman is hosting a Carnival of Allies

[w]here self-identified allies write to other people like themselves about why this or that oppression and prejudice is wrong. Why they are allies. Why the usual excuses are not good enough. I figure allies probably know full well all the many and various arguments people throw up to make prejudice and oppression okay. Things that someone on the other side of the fence may not hear. Address those things and more besides.

And when I say allies, I’m talking about any and every type. PoC [people of color] can be (and should be) allies to other PoC, or to LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual/transgender, queer] people if they are straight, or any number of other combinations. If you feel like you’re an ally and have something to say about that, you should submit to this carnival.

The deadline for submissions is May 5. Again, go here for the full rundown, and to submit your entry.

There are three places around town that I can walk to by myself: the Target, the dentist and the local library. (Okay, there’s a Pizza Hut on the way to Target, but since starting my diet lifestyle change I don’t go there).

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[Image Description: A faceless person with brown hair parted cleanly down the middle. The back of the office chair she's sitting in is visible, and behind her you can see a white wall and a wooden door flung open with a plastic bag on the doorknob. In the lower left corner, you can see some pink shoes.]

A friend once told me that my disability was “semi-visible.” At the time, I thought I knew what she meant. Now I realize I don’t.

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A while back I saw this video of Mia Mingus accepting the Creating Change Award on MsCripChick’s blog (includes transcript). I thought her speech was awesome, of course, but something seemed vaguely familiar about her, particularly her voice.(I recognize people by their voices more often than by their faces). Last night after watching the video again I had an epiphany: “Ohmygod! That’s Mia Mingus!”

We met at Agnes Scott College, and were in the same graduating class. Mia helped organize a disabled students’ advocacy group on campus, which was way cool. (Although I didn’t do much work; I mostly just listened to everyone else). One of our issues was accessibility of handicapped parking spaces, and reporting people who parked in them illegally.

Now, Mia’s the co-executive director of SPARK! Reproductive Justice NOW. The organization has a YouTube channel here. Unfortunately, none of the videos are captioned; I’ll see if I can work with them to change that. Also, here’s a copy of a speech Mia gave on violence against women, as well as her review of Audre Lorde’s The Cancer Journals.

Yes, I’m a little slow on the uptake sometimes. At least now I can stalk get back in touch with Mia and congratulate her.

LiveWorkPlay is a Canadian organization of self-advocates with intellectual disabilities. Its website has lots of videos that the members wrote and starred in; they cover everything from voting (I Am A Voter) to standing up for yourself when your parents aren’t ready to “let go” ( Out of the Box) to staying out late and having fun (The Right to Party). There are also clips from self-advocacy conferences, as well as news stories about some of the organization’s activities. Way cool stuff…unfortunately, none of it is closed-captioned.

Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered is a similar national organization in the US. Advocating Change Together is another self-advocacy organization in the US, but I don’t know if it’s national or not.