People think disability is something you can “try harder” your way out of.
They think it’ll never happen to them, or if it does they will overcome.
They refuse to listen to disabled voices.
They refuse to help build better safety nets.
They refuse to care.
It’s a minority group you can join anytime
Last week Trump called Tim Walz the ‘R slur’.
He then doubled down on it, and now his base have begun harassing the entire Walz family.
Memes are circulating on socials encouraging people to drive past their house and yell it at them.
I’ve been personally called that word more than 1,000 times in the last seven days.
We can’t allow this to happen. The disability community has fought far too hard for far too long to remove that word from the public vernacular.
This is ableism at it’s most ugly, and ableism feeds eugenics and eugenics feeds fascism.
Help us fight back. We are not expendable.
disabledginger.com/p/the-r-slu…
#uspol #trump #walz #fascism #discrimination #ableism #eugenics #chronicillness #disabilityjustice
Last week Trump called Walz the 'R slur', and now his base is using it regularly. We must all speak out against this. It's a term that pushes a eugenicist agenda and feeds directly into fascism.Broadwaybabyto (The Disabled Ginger)
@🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 In general, when it comes to what to include in an image description, the context matters. But so does the target audience (not as in whom you want to receive your content, but who may stumble upon it this or that way), and so does the existing knowledge of the target audience. And, this is pretty much Fediverse-specific, so do the expectations of your target audience.
I've observed and studied alt-text and image descriptions for some three years now, not only by reading dozens upon dozens of guides all over the Web, but especially by examining the attitude towards it in the Fediverse, that is, actually only on Mastodon because alt-text isn't such a hot topic anywhere else. I've mostly done so in order to up my own image-describing game further and further and further, also because no alt-text guide out there covers my situation, so I had to cobble all that information together myself, enough information for me to have started my own wiki on this topic to share my knowledge with others.
One thing I've noticed is that Mastodon loves long and extensive image descriptions in alt-text. There's no "keep it short and concise"; instead, there are users who keep receiving praise for alt-texts of 800 or 1,000 characters or more.
Also, my impression is that Mastodon does not like having to ask for details and/or explanations, nor does it like to look up what it doesn't know enough about to understand it. If you have to ask someone who has posted an image for a description of a certain detail in an image, this means that the image description is lacking, regardless of whether or not that detail matters within the context of the post. Having to ask for a description of a detail is almost as bad as having to ask for the description of the whole image.
In fact, it was just a few months ago that I read a Mastodon toot that said that any element in an image mentioned in the description must also have its own visual description. You can't just say what's in the image. You also have to describe what it looks like.
Likewise, if there's something in an image description that someone doesn't understand, it must be explained right away. This, by the way, ties in with the rule that image descriptions must never use technical language or jargon, and if they absolutely cannot avoid it, it must be explained when it's used first. And it must be explained in a way that requires no prior special knowledge.
So far, so good. But the reason why I've gone all the way to observe and study alt-text and image descriptions, and why I'm so obsessed with it, is because I'm in a special situation.
For one, I'm in the Fediverse which means that certain alt-text rules simply don't apply to me, not only everything that involves captions, but also the brevity-as-a-hard-requirement rule. However, I'm not on Mastodon, so I'm not as much bound to Mastodon's limitations as Mastodon users. In particular, my character limit is over 16 million, so I can do a whole lot more in the post itself.
Besides, my original images are nothing like what almost everyone on Mastodon posts. They aren't real-life photographs, nor are they social media screenshots. Instead, they are renderings from 3-D virtual worlds, even extremely obscure virtual worlds that next to nobody out there has ever even heard of.
At the same time, my image posts might get people curious enough that they want to go explore this new universe that they've just discovered through my post. The only way they can explore it is by looking at my images and taking in all the big and small details. If they're blind, they cannot do that, but accessibility and inclusion demand they have the very same chance to do it as fully sighted people. In order for them to have this chance, I must go and describe all these big and small details to them, regardless of context. Everything else would be ableist, maybe not by some official W3C definition, but at least by Mastodon's definition.
Speaking of context, sometimes my images are the context of the post. There isn't that one element in the image that matters within the context of the post while everything else can be swept under the rug. No, the entire image matters. The entire scenery matters. Everything in the image matters all the same. This means that I have to describe everything. Again, see further above: I can't get away with just mentioning what's there. If I mention it, I have to describe what it looks like.
This is also justified because I can never expect everyone to already know what something in my image looks like. Again, they don't show real life. They show virtual worlds. In virtual worlds, things do not necessarily look like what they look like in real life. And things tend to look different in different virtual worlds, sometimes even within the same virtual world system.
For example, you, as someone born completely blind, may have come across enough image descriptions to have a rough idea of what cats look like in real life. But that does not automatically give you a realistic idea what a particular cat looks like in a specific virtual world, also seeing as there are infinitely more possibilities for what cats may look like. It could be a detailed, life-like representation of a cat with high-resolution materials as textures. It could be a very simplified, low-resolution model with a likewise low-resolution texture. It could be cobbled together from standard shapes because that was all that was possible when that cat was made. Or whatever. You wouldn't know unless I told you. But who am I to judge whether or not you want to know?
It gets even worse with buildings. You probably wouldn't even know what a specific building looks like in real life unless you have a detailed description, so how are you supposed to know what a specific building looks like in a virtual world that you've first read about a few minutes ago? In addition, there are so many ways of creating buildings in virtual worlds, and they've changed over time with new tools and new features becoming available.
I've come to a point at which I usually avoid having buildings in my images because they're too tedious to describe, especially realistic buildings, but not only these. My last original image post but one was in spring, 2024, about one and a half years ago. I decided to show a rather fantasy-like building. This building, however, is so complex that it took me two full days, morning to evening, to write the long image description that I'd put into the post. This image description is over 60,000 characters long, over 40,000 of which describe the building. The description also covers the interior because the outer walls of the building are almost entirely glass. The long description has two levels of headlines of its own. I've needed well over 4,000 characters only to explain to people where that place is that's shown in the image.
And then there was the short description for the alt-text which I needed as well so that nobody could accuse me of not adding a sufficiently detailed alt-text to my image. I was genuinely unable to make it any shorter than 1,400 characters. It actually took up a lot of characters that I needed to point especially Mastodon users at the long description in the post itself. That was when Mastodon only hid the post text behind a CW, but not the images, so that nobody on Mastodon would have known that there's a long description unless I told them in the alt-text.
One reason why the long description grew so long was that I didn't describe the image by looking at the image. I described it by looking at the real deal. All the time while I was working on the long description, I was in-world. I had my avatar in front of the building, walking through the building, walking around the building. I could move the camera very close to a lot of details. Instead of seeing the scenery at the resolution of the image, I saw it at a practically infinite resolution. This also enabled me to transcribe text that's so small in the image that it's unreadable, even text that's so tiny in the image that it's invisible. After all, the rule says that any and all text within the borders of an image must be transcribed. And I've yet to see that rule having any explicit exception for unreadable text.
Sure, I could have written that certain details got lost and cannot be identified at the low resolution of the image. But that may be perceived as me trying to weasel out of the responsibility to describe these details instead. I mean, how many people who were born completely blind have a concept of image resolution and pixels, and how many think that it's possible to zoom into any image infinitely? Besides, I'm not bound to what the image shows at its fairly low resolution anyway, so why should I pretend I am? The only logical reason for that would be because I'm expected to describe the image. And not the scenery in the area within the borders of the image.
And still, I haven't given full visual descriptions of everything in that scene. I decided against fully describing all images within that image at the same level as the image itself. I decided so because it would have gone too far: At least one image, a preview image on a teleporter, technically shows dozens of images itself, preview images on teleporters again. And some of these images show more images yet again. I would have ended up describing several dozens of images, at least four levels deep, in order to fully describe one image. And then the whole image description would have been rather pointless because Mastodon rejects posts with over 100,000 characters, and the post would probably have ended up with several millions of characters.
By the way, even before I wrote that massive image description, I actually showed @Hat. AuDHD cat 😷n95🍉 💔🌻🔻 one of my image posts, the one with my longest description for a single image to that date. It has two images with over 48,000 characters of long description combined, almost 40,000 of which are for the first image. She actually praised this massive image description and told me that this level of detail in both visual description and explanation is exactly what she needs.
The last time I've posted original in-world images was in July, 2024. I took care not to have too many details in the images this time. Still, I ended up with a combined over 25,000 characters of long description for both images, also because they contain an avatar that had to be described in full detail.
I've been working on the image descriptions for a series of avatar portraits for about a year now, on and off, but still. This time, I gave the images a neutral, completely feature-less, bright white background that won't take up much effort to describe. The plan is to have three or four images with three or four portraits of the same avatar each, always in the same post with only slightly different outfits. I'm still describing the first image, and I've only fully covered the first outfit and started with the second one.
The common preamble for all images in one post already exceeds 17,000 characters, including over 2,000 characters explaining OpenSim and over 9,000 characters explaining what OpenSim avatars can be made of and how they work because that's essential for understanding the visual descriptions. I expect the preamble to grow significantly longer before it's ready because I have to get rid of a whole lot of technical language and jargon and/or explain even more of it. The preamble also contains over 5,000 characters of general visual description that applies to all portraits in all images the same. It includes almost 2,000 characters that describe the shoes, men's casual leather shoes, because to my best knowledge, such shoes don't exist in real life.
Other images will show the avatar wearing full brogue leather shoes. I'm still not sure whether I can correctly assume that everyone out there knows what they are and what they look like, or whether I'll have to give the same amount of detail description again, only that full brogue shoes are much more complex than the shoes I've already described. Also, I'm not sure if everyone out there knows what a herringbone fabric pattern looks like, or whether that requires a detail description and an explanation itself, even though several actually blind users have told me that I can assume it to be familiar.
One problem I still haven't solved is that I simply can't fit an appropriately detailed short image description into a maximum of 1,500 characters of alt-text.
Verdict: There are always edge cases in which an image cannot be sufficiently described in only one short and concise image description in the alt-text. My virtual world renderings are such an edge case, also because they're posted into the Fediverse. Another edge case is @Hat. AuDHD cat 😷n95🍉 💔🌻🔻 who, due to a disability, requires hyper-detailed image descriptions that take hours to read to even be able to experience and understand an image properly.
CC: @Carolyn @Prof. Rachel Thorn 🍉🇺🇦🏳️⚧️🏳️
#Long #LongPost #CWLong #CWLongPost #FediMeta #FediverseMeta #CWFediMeta #CWFediverseMeta #AltText #AltTextMeta #CWAltTextMeta #ImageDescription #ImageDescriptions #ImageDescriptionMeta #CWImageDescriptionMeta #Ableist #Ableism #AbleismMeta #CWAbleismMeta #VirtualWorlds
From the Disability Visibility Project:
"Immigrant Rights Are Disability Rights"
disabilityvisibilityproject.co…
"… a true commitment to justice for disabled people must recognize that many undocumented immigrants are themselves disabled and deserving of basic rights, not total erasure from the disability rights discourse."
#USPol #Disability #DisabilityRights #Ableism #Immigration #HumanRights
Immigrant Rights Are Disability Rights Joe Stramondo In 2019, a White disability rights leader with a national reputation, Bruce Darling, had a spectacular fall from grace because of commen…Disability Visibility Project
We need urgent community action to stop this incredibly ableist plan from moving forward.
The DOE has ruled that new federal buildings don’t have to meet accessibility standards.
That will mean many disabled people won’t be able to work in or access these places.
They’re literally excluding us from as many facets of life as possible, because they have a eugenics plan.
Call, email, speak out!
Accessibility is not a “nice to have”. It’s a legal right. It’s necessary for our survival.
federalregister.gov/documents/…
#uspol #fascism #disability #chronicillness #ableism #accessibility #doe
When I had my hysterectomy, I was told recovery would be quick because I was young, fit & otherwise healthy.
They were wrong. The surgeon made an error and despite signs of post op bleeding, discharged me & went on vacation.
When I returned to the ER, I was ignored & gaslit
They told me it was “normal” to be in more pain 8 days after surgery than on day 1 (it’s not).
They said “what do you want us to do?”
They refused to run any tests beyond basic vitals, and scolded me for wasting their time
I knew something was wrong, but I was young and hadn’t yet learned how to advocate for myself.
The pain, swelling and bruising were getting worse with each passing day. I was dizzy, listless and had no appetite.
I slept ALL the time.
I was not getting better
I did what anyone would do, I went back to the ER. Surely this time they would take me seriously?
They didn’t. They made no attempt to hide their frustration that I had returned”. They made misogynistic comments about how “sensitive” I was & that being in pain was normal
I went home feeling completely dejected and disrespected, but also starting to gaslight myself.
Maybe it wasn’t that bad. Maybe this was normal pain. Maybe I did need to suck it up.
I tried to force myself to eat and go for light walks. I tried to play through the pain.
I was vomiting everything up and frequently collapsing from fatigue.
I could not suck this up.
My boyfriend had to carry me into the ER for a third attempt to get help
They did the exact same thing. Asked what we expected them to do. Told us the pain was normal. Refused to call a consult or run tests.
Thankfully my boyfriend believed me over them. He was certain if I went home, I wouldn’t make it through the night
He refused to let them discharge me. He told them, loudly and sternly, that he was not taking me home to die. That they needed to do their jobs.
They threatened to call security but he did not back down.
Thankfully a doctor overheard him and decided to look in and see if he could calm the situation.
When he saw me, half unconscious and white as a ghost, he immediately ordered tests. He told the triage staff not to call security and to take me into a private room
It turns out my boyfriend was right. Had I gone home that night, I wouldn’t have made it to morning.
I had a massive internal bleed and a giant infected abscess which had been growing since the surgeon sent me home.
I was rushed to another hospital for emergency surgery and given 50/50 odds of survival. I spent over a month in the hospital, developed a second hospital acquired infection, and needed 11 months to fully recover.
I survived due to luck & privilege. Had my boyfriend not believed me, I wouldn’t be here. Had he not been a white man? He likely would have been removed & I would have died
This is medical misogyny. They didn’t listen because I was a woman. They thought I was being dramatic
I tell this story because of what happened to Adriana Smith. A young black woman in Georgia who tried to get medical care for severe headaches, and was dismissed and gaslit instead.
She suffered brain death at home because no one believed her. Because of misogynoir.
To make matters worse, she’s been turned into a medical experiment because she was nine weeks pregnant and living in a state with an abortion ban. She’s on organ & tissue support being treated as a human incubator.
No care when alive & forced “care” when dead
Misogyny in medicine kills. It maims. It disables and traumatizes.
Women are frequently treated as hysterical and not given the medical care they require.
We often need a man to accompany us just to be taken seriously.
It’s not right and it needs to change
I will forever deal with medical PTSD because of what I went through, but at least I survived.
Adriana wasn’t so lucky, and no one’s survival should ever be based on luck, privilege or their ability to find a man to speak for them
I survived due to luck and privilege, Adriana didn’t.
What’s worse, due to abortion bans and dangerous forced birth policies, her body is kept alive on organ and tissue support without her family’s consent.
We must do better:
disabledginger.com/p/adriana-s…
#misogyny #misogynoir #ableism #patriarchy #abortion #mybodymychoice #disability #ableism #uspol
Adriana Smith couldn't access competent medical care when she needed it, and it killed her. Now the hospital is forcing 'care' on her by keeping her alive as an incubator due to Georgia's abortion banBroadwaybabyto (The Disabled Ginger)
What do you get when you let (overwhelmingly white, overwhelmingly male) able-bodied developers build an operating system?
Well, you get an insightful display of structural #ableism.
As a developer, I feel ashamed about this state of affairs, reading the excellent blog series by @fireborn . We can do better, and we deeply need to.
dragonscave.space/@fireborn/11…
#Linux #Accessibility #a11y #FLOSS
The state of Linux accessibility in 2025. This started out as a rant but became a series. Please feel free to leave feedback, comments, and subscribe via rss or email for more stuff as I release it. fireborn.mataroa.blog/blog/i-w…
I’ve lost count of how many times I was dismissed with very serious issues because I was ‘too young’ and/or a woman.
My Dysautonomia was missed for years because ‘you’re too young for heart problems’
My EDS wasn’t diagnosed until my late thirties because ‘you’re young and otherwise healthy so the pain is in your head’
After my hysterectomy, I bled into my belly for two weeks while the ER repeatedly sent me home saying I was ‘too young’ to be having a serious post operative complication.
Misogyny, discrimination and bias in medicine kills. It disables. It traumatizes.
I was lucky to survive my experiences, but I don’t want any of us to survive based on luck.
We deserve the same level of care as men, and I will keep fighting until we get it.
ctvnews.ca/health/article/mont…
#canpoli #misogyny #healthcare #publichealth #cancer #medicalmisogyny #ableism #bias
A Montreal woman who was told by health-care professionals that she was too young for breast cancer but later diagnosed with it, has died from the disease. Valerie Buchanan was 32 when she died at the end of February.Robin Della Corte (CTVNews)
When I started The Disabled Ginger I sent it to my friends and family … as most of us do.
I was proud that I was finally standing up for disability rights. That I was taking my pain and putting it on the page in an effort to help others. That I had found something that lit a spark inside me.
Unfortunately, many of my friends didn’t feel the same way.
My disabilities are invisible, and I had become very good at hiding them. Apparently that’s what people expected of me, as they didn’t like this “new” version of Kelly.
Almost none of my friends subscribed. What’s worse, many stopped talking to me. Or would only reply in brief texts.
It’s almost been a year since I launched, and my circle is noticeably smaller. Many people I thought I was close with haven’t reached out for nearly 6 months.
When you find your purpose and your passion, it’s an incredible feeling. Hopefully people support you.
Not everyone will. And that’s ok.
It’s painful seeing so many relationships fade away. It hurts knowing they don’t see the value in me now that I’m “officially” disabled.
As painful as it is, it’s also a perfect example of why I became an advocate. Ableism is a huge problem. Being disabled can be incredibly lonely. I wanted to give a voice to those who haven’t yet found theirs.
In the process I’ve met incredible people from all over the world who inspire me to keep going. Who give me a reason to write every day. Who remind me of the compassion, love and goodness that’s still out there.
Thank you to each and every one of you. I couldn’t do this alone.
My latest looks at the reasons we hide, and what would happen if we all decided to stop hiding and show the world the realities of chronic illness:
disabledginger.com/p/why-are-c…
#chronicillness #longcovid #mecfs #ableism #disability #disabilityrights #eugenics
And what would happen if we stopped hiding and showed the world the depths of our suffering?Broadwaybabyto (The Disabled Ginger)
If you think mask bans are “no big deal” because there’s medical exemptions, please consider the following:
😷 Police are not doctors
😷 Many disabilities are invisible
😷 Disabled people don’t live in a bubble. I need my friends and caregivers to mask to protect me
😷 Everyone should have the right to protect their health, you shouldn’t have to already be sick to be permitted to mask
😷 Criminalizing masks sends a message that maskers are “bad”. It emboldens anti-maskers and increases odds of aggression
The reality is that mask bans are discriminatory, ableist and eugenicist. They push disabled people out of public spaces. They put marginalized and POC at increased risk of police profiling.
There’s no official policy for a medical exemption either, it’s at police discretion.
If you’re stopped and questioned, you will have to prove you’re masking for the “right reasons”
I’m more than willing to admit that if I were stopped by a cop for masking, I would appear nervous, shaky, tachycardic and probably “suspicious”.
Not because I’m doing anything wrong, but because my illnesses do not respond well to stress and the police are stressful.
It’s not right to put the onus on the masker to defend their right to mask. We’re still in a global pandemic. Texas has a measles outbreak. There’s tuberculosis in Kansas. Bird flu is spreading and it’s the worst year for influenza A in over a decade.
Masks are a public health tool. They’re a disability accommodation. They should NOT be criminalized.
For more on mask bans and medical exemptions, I wrote an article on the Nassau County ban here:
disabledginger.com/p/nassau-co…
#nomaskban #uspoli #texas #northcarolina #maskban #disability #uglylaws #publichealth #ableism #eugenics #h5n1 #measles #longcovid #covidisairborne
Defendants of mask bans point to medical exemptions as proof that disabled people have nothing to worry about. They're wrong. A look at why bans are ableist, discriminatory and dangerous.Broadwaybabyto (The Disabled Ginger)
Tomorrow will be a dark day for many.
For disabled, marginalized, LGBTQ+ folks & women. For anyone who still cares about others
The disability community saw this coming. It’s important we listen & understand that labelling people as expendable for 5 years leads nowhere good
Since November we’ve watched hate win over and over again.
We’ve witnessed the emboldening of those who think they’re superior to others.
We’ve seen an increase in misogyny, bigotry, ableism, racism & discrimination.
Disabled people begged the Left to pay attention. We begged you to keep masking, to push for clean air, to demand accountability from government.
We implored you to realize that our lives are not less important than your ability to go out for brunch.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of people on both sides of the aisle decided that mitigating COVID was “too hard.”
They accepted repeat infections as inevitable so they wouldn’t have to adapt their lives in any way.
They threw away people like me.
We let hate win. And now we’re going to see the consequences of that decision.
Disabled people weren’t surprised in November, we’ve been living in what feels like an alternate reality for years.
But I suspect others are about to feel our pain.
If you’re feeling scared or angry right now, know that you’re not alone. There’s a community standing with you.
I don’t know exactly what comes next, but I do know we have to keep up the fight.
disabledginger.com/p/how-did-w…
#disability #COVIDisAirborne #covidisnotover #uspol #ableism #eugenics #trump #pandemic #longcovid
Disabled people have been warning others for nearly 5 years that eugenicist Covid policies would lead to a rise of fascist, racist, bigoted, misogynistic hatred. It's here now. So what’s next?Broadwaybabyto (The Disabled Ginger)
Before you tell a disabled person that they need to “just make the healthcare worker mask”… please understand the imbalance of power that exists in hospital settings.
We can’t “just make them” do anything. If they refuse -our options are to take the risk or go without care.
There’s little recourse when a HCW refuses to mask - there’s almost NO recourse that exists in the moment.
You can file a complaint after the fact - but if the care you require is urgent or an emergency - that won’t help you
Imagine you’re taken to the emergency room with an urgent (or life threatening) issue. The doctor comes in and refuses to wear a mask.
Do you walk out? Throw a fit? These are not good options
Even if you manage to keep your composure and strongly advocate for them to reconsider - the longer you argue the more potential virus you’re being exposed to.
The more you “annoy” the staff - the greater the odds of retaliation or reduction in care.
This isn’t like telling a friend or a colleague to mask. The dynamic is completely different.
HCWs have the ability to help you or harm you. You want them on your side.
A note in your chart indicating you’re anxious, difficult, non compliant etc can follow you around and impact all your care going forward. Getting charts corrected and notes removed is a time consuming and difficult process
As a result many patients don’t push the issue. They delay medical care as long as possible and then just cross their fingers they will get a compassionate HCW when they do finally go.
These delays can also cause harm - and shouldn’t be necessary.
Hospitals have never been terribly safe places. They’re where the strongest and most resistant bugs thrive. They’re also where the sickest and most vulnerable people are.
At least before Covid it felt like hospitals were TRYING to prevent infection.
These days it’s as though any amount of infection control is seen as weak. People are actually bragging about how many times they’ve had Covid or about the risks they’re taking with their health. Staff aren’t masking even around babies, cancer & transplant patients
We have to change course. Our healthcare systems could barely handle the amount of chronic illness they were facing before Covid - they certainly can’t handle the constant influx of disabled patients and staff that Covid is causing.
This is why we need mandatory masks in healthcare settings. The responsibility to keep themselves and others safe should NOT fall on the vulnerable patient.
Many are unable to advocate for themselves - and others are unable to mask.
Mandatory masking protects everyone
Lastly - the solution to this problem should not be “don’t go to the hospital”. It’s not right to make ANY patient feel like they’re wrong for seeking care. Like they’ve somehow “failed” if they end up with Covid.
Until you’re facing a life threatening emergency or serious health challenges - you can’t possibly know what you would do.
Is it scary to go to the hospital right now? Of course. Is it also necessary? Absolutely.
Patients should never be blamed for needing care or for being unable to get HCWs to mask. The system is failing us - we aren’t failing each other.
If you need the hospital - you have all my love & support. It’s impossibly hard - and I will keep fighting to make it better.
As long as hospitals refuse to do what’s right to prevent COVID (hello clean air & mandatory masking)… the onus is unfairly on the PATIENT to avoid COVID.
My guide offers tips to reduce your risk of hospital acquired COVID (and other HAIs)
disabledginger.com/p/how-to-st…
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhealthcare #MaskBans #NoMaskBans
A guide to navigating the risk of hospital acquired Covid - as well as how to manage overall risk of nosocomial infections and hospital derived complications.Broadwaybabyto (The Disabled Ginger)
The G7 countries had a meeting on disability and inclusion for the first time ever.
These groups should really take the next step and add ableism to the meeting topics as it is where lack of inclusion stems from.
g7disabilityinclusion.it/en/g7… @disability #Ableism #Economy #Disability
Reading WITHOUT Sight: Challenging the Ableist Assumptions of Non-Visual Literacy
In today’s world, where accessibility is supposedly ever-expanding, comments on how blind people read – or rather, whether we “really” read – reveal a significant amount of latent ableism. When someone remarks, “You’re not really reading because you have to listen to it,” they are unwittingly touching on deep-seated biases that marginalize blind people and our experience. For me, as a blind person, these comments feel aggressive, like a slur that undermines not only my intellect but my very existence within a literate society. The underlying suggestion that my method of consuming literature is somehow less legitimate than traditional reading reflects a lack of understanding and a failure to appreciate the richness of alternative literacy.
At its core, this statement implies that visual reading is the only valid form of reading – an attitude deeply rooted in ableist assumptions. Just as the sighted world learns and adapts to new ways of accessing information, blind people, too, use technology to bridge gaps that were once insurmountable. By suggesting that listening to an audiobook or using a screen reader is inferior to reading with one’s eyes, the speaker perpetuates a narrow view of literacy that excludes anyone who does not fit their narrow definition of a reader.
The Emotional Impact of Dismissive Comments
Hearing such remarks can be hurtful. When someone tells me I’m not “really reading,” they trivialize the effort, love, and passion I pour into every book. Reading, in any form, is more than just a mechanical process; it’s an engagement with ideas, narratives, and emotions. Denying my capacity to “really” read is akin to erasing my agency in choosing to explore literature. It dismisses my experience and can feel like a personal attack, minimizing my intelligence and curiosity.
Moreover, these comments strip away the nuances of my identity and life experience as a blind person. They ignore the reality that many of us navigate systems not designed with us in mind, yet we adapt with resilience and creativity. Listening to a book, for me, is as much an engagement with its content as sighted reading is for others. This medium allows me to dive into narratives, to imagine worlds, and to connect with characters just as vividly as if I were reading visually. Such a remark does not just invalidate my experience, but it also points to a societal failure to recognize and celebrate the diverse ways people interact with literature.
Understanding the Roots of Ableism
Ableism, at its core, stems from a belief that certain abilities, like sight, are inherently superior. This mindset manifests in the way sighted people sometimes view adaptations like screen readers or braille as substitutes, rather than as equally valid methods of accessing information. This thought pattern diminishes the lived experiences of blind individuals and subtly implies that we’re only half-participating in the world of literature. The comment reflects an ideology that upholds one mode of experiencing the world as ideal, while relegating others to second-class status.
Furthermore, literacy is a concept that should not be defined by sensory modality. Whether through braille, audio, or screen readers, blind readers engage in the same cognitive processes of understanding and analying text. These methods are not merely compensatory but rather alternate pathways that lead to the same destination.
Responding Constructively
Addressing this kind of ableism requires a blend of assertiveness and education. In responding to these comments, I could say something like, “When you suggest that I’m not really reading, it feels as if you’re diminishing my engagement with the text. For me, listening to a book offers the same intellectual and emotional journey as sighted reading does for you. It’s not about the method; it’s about the experience of connecting with the material. I’d appreciate it if we could acknowledge that there are many valid ways to be a reader.”
By framing the response in this way, I affirm my own experience while gently inviting the person to reconsider their assumptions. Another approach could be to highlight the diversity of literacy methods available today: “There’s a wide range of ways people can read now, whether through audio, braille, or text-to-speech technology. These methods open up the world of literature to more people and should be celebrated rather than diminished.”
My hope is that, in responding to these comments, I can foster a moment of reflection for others. Reading is about engaging with ideas and stories, not about the medium through which we access them. Ableist remarks about non-visual reading, though sometimes spoken thoughtlessly, present an opportunity to open minds and broaden perspectives. By sharing my experience, I contribute to a more inclusive understanding of literacy and help to dismantle the harmful stereotypes that still persist.
Conclusion
Reading is not an act confined to the eyes; it is an intellectual and emotional endeavour that transcends sensory modality. For many blind people, it is the ultimate expression of our love for stories, our curiosity, and our intellect. When someone diminishes my experience as “not really reading,” they underscore a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be a reader. As we continue to expand our understanding of accessibility, it is crucial to challenge and reframe such biases. Only by doing so can we begin to recognize and respect the many ways in which people interact with the written word, enriching our collective experience of literature in all its forms.
#Ableism #Accessibility #Audible #Blind #Braille #Disability #Equality #Inclusion #Kindle
Ugly laws will be enforced in Louisville. Medical masks will be allowed at “police discretion”.
Police chief says: “We do have to look at behavior of person, what they're doing at time, those kinds of things."
I have a disability that makes me LOOK nervous. I “appear” like I could be doing something wrong. As a result these bans terrify me.
Disabled people have been begging others to mask for years because we were afraid of this exact outcome.
Failure to normalize masking means those of us who NEED to wear them are seen as outliers. Deviants. Possibly criminals. There’s a target on our back.
Medical exemptions are not the answer - they leave too many people behind.
Everyone should have the right to protect themselves from a deadly & disabling virus. Whether already disabled or not.
Banning masks and then saying that the police will determine who is “legit” in wearing one based on their overall behaviour? Its terrifying.
This is exactly HOW profiling occurs. These bans will disproportionately impact marginalized individuals and people of colour.
They could also impact someone with a condition like mine. I’m immune compromised and high risk for Covid complications - so I ALWAYS wear a fitted respirator when I’m outside my home.
I also have dysautonomia - a literal malfunctioning of my autonomic nervous system.
If I’m upright - I “look” nervous. I’m sweaty, shaky, twitchy and sometimes wobbling. I’ve been accused of being drunk in public on MANY occasions.
It’s not my fault - Dysautonomia means I can’t regulate my blood pressure, heart rate, sweating & even pupil dilation.
The things that cops are trained to look for and consider “suspicious” are all symptoms of my disease.
In the past - the worst thing I had to worry about was being accused of public drunkenness. Even THAT was scary for me.
Mask bans mean I could be arrested and charged with a crime. Just for trying to keep myself & others safe.
I tell this story to encourage others to speak up against mask bans. To mask up in solidarity and help us normalize them so they will be harder to ban.
To encourage people to stop assuming if you have a “legitimate medical reason” you won’t have to worry. We DO worry.
We need less judgement, assumptions and gaslighting and more allies. These laws are dangerous. They will lead to more death, disability AND division.
Many of us have difficulty convincing HCWs of our illnesses - what hope do we have with police?
Please - if you CAN mask - now is the time. You don’t have to wait for a mandate or permission. You can choose to say “enough is enough” & be part of the solution. Break chains of transmission. Protect the vulnerable. Don’t allow government to decide who is & isn’t expendable.
We all have power and agency and can choose to do the right thing. We don’t have to sit idly by and accept repeated covid infections & exclusion of disabled people from public life.
Let’s work together and stop these bans before it’s too late.
wdrb.com/news/louisville-polic…
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhealthcare #MaskBans #NoMaskBans #UglyLaws
I called EMS once and police showed up before paramedics (paramedics were busy).
The first thing they said? “You don’t look sick.”
They waited for paramedics who took me to hospital - but that initial response stuck with me.
It’s why mask bans are dangerous. Police aren’t trained to make medical decisions. They shouldn’t be the ones deciding who can and can’t legally wear a mask.
Many illnesses are invisible - you wouldn’t KNOW we’re disabled to look at us.
Most of us have experienced gaslighting from friends, family and even doctors - people are quick to judge and decide you’re “not that sick.”
So are we really expected to risk criminal charges by wearing a respirator & just HOPE police will believe we truly “need it”?
Not to mention that medical exemptions leave behind anyone who wants to mask to protect and preserve their health - as well as caregivers and family of disabled people.
We rely on them to keep us safe - we NEED them masking in public.
I sincerely hope more people join the fight against mask bans soon - because if we don’t fight against them - more cities and states will pass them and more people will suffer.
A good respirator is excellent protection against covid & other illnesses.
We shouldn’t be further excluding disabled and high risk people from public - but that’s exactly what these ugly laws do.
Call your elected officials - tell them medical masks can not and should not be banned.
Don’t embrace escalating fascism and eugenics just because you don’t think it will impact you.
Don’t celebrate it because you hold a grudge about mask mandates.
It won’t stop with disabled people. Help us now & your future self will thank you.
My full article on mask bans, medical exemptions and how we’re witnessing (and even welcoming) escalating eugenics and fascism: disabledginger.com/p/we-are-wi…
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhealthcare #MaskBans #NoMaskBans #bullying #CleanAirClassrooms #UglyLaws
Oh, thank goodness not having a fully functional screen reader isn’t a blocker for Fedora 41. We wouldn’t want them to miss their 10th anniversary of shipping an operating system without a fully functional screen reader, after all.
ar.al/2024/06/23/fedora-has-be…
#Fedora #RedHat #IBM #a11y #accessibility #screenReader #orca #linux #openSource #FOSS #ableism masto.ai/@phoronix/11307885166…
Disability Rights New York has filed a class action lawsuit against Nassau County seeking an injunction to stop the enforcement of mask bans.
This is exactly the kind of action we need to see happen against discriminatory & ableist mask bans.
Law enforcement should not be the arbiter of who is “sick enough” to legally wear a mask. Many disabilities are invisible - and police are NOT doctors.
For more on the Nassau County mask ban and why it’s discriminatory - as well as why everyone (disabled or not) should be allowed to wear a mask - read my article here: disabledginger.com/p/nassau-co…
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhealthcare #MaskBans #NoMaskBans
med-mastodon.com/@luckytran/11…
Defendants of mask bans point to medical exemptions as proof that disabled people have nothing to worry about. They're wrong. A look at why bans are ableist, discriminatory and dangerous.Broadwaybabyto (The Disabled Ginger)
Newsflash: other people exist!
For the love of God, don’t block the sidewalk for wheelchair users and people with strollers or suitcases or whatever. Some massive main character syndrome on display here.
#frustration #antisocial #ableism #accessibility
I urge everyone to read this post from Lucky Tran about a proposed mask ban in Nassau County that would see people fined $1000 for wearing a mask. As soon as North Carolina passed their mask ban - we began seeing other cities and states follow suit.
Mask bans are wrong. Period. We are in an airborne pandemic where one of our best and only tools remains a well fitted respirator. The idea that people should have to carry around a medical exemption (which not everyone can obtain) or face fines and/or arrest is ableist and discriminatory. These bans force disabled people out of society because they don’t allow us to exist safely in public spaces - and they will increase the spread of Covid.
Call, email, post… speak out against these bans. Let lawmakers know you won’t visit any city or state that doesn’t allow people to wear a medical device for personal protection and community care.
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #MaskBan #BoycottNC #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #NorthCarolina #NewYork #UglyLaws #NewJersey
med-mastodon.com/@luckytran/11…
This is really worrying. There's a bill in Nassau County, Long Island, New York, that has a good chance of passing due to GOP majority, that would fine people $1,000 for wearing a mask. https://www.nbcnewyork.Med-Mastodon
Fedora has been shipping with a broken screen reader for NINE YEARS but the real problem is me
ar.al/2024/06/23/fedora-has-be…
#fedora #accessibility #a11y #ableism #RedHat #IBM #Linux #OpenSource
Fedora has an ableism problem but woe to you if you point it out.Aral Balkan
Freedom isn’t freedom if it’s only for abled people.
Then again, there’s a reason you don’t see the word “freedom” in “open source.”
And there’s a reason “share alike” is just one of the principles of Small Technology, alongside a non-colonial approach, inclusivity, and others. (small-tech.org/about/#small-te…)
#openSource #ableism #foss #freedom #accessibility #a11y #inclusivity #SmallTech
We’re a tiny and independent two-person not-for-profit based in Ireland. We’re working on building the Small Web.Small Technology Foundation
For eight years Fedora has been shipping GNOME with a broken screen reader!
EIGHT YEARS!
(Wayland has been default on Fedora for eight years – since Fedora 25, released in 2016.)
And a hundred-billion-dollar corporation like IBM ships operating systems today based on it with a broken screen reader.
What is an ableist culture? One in which the people who call this out get ostracised.
#ableism #fedora #redHat #IBM #gnome #cosmic #wayland #a11y #system76 #linux fosstodon.org/@soller/11264637…
I am unfollowing @aral@mastodon.ar.al. No matter my disagreements with GNOME folks in the past, COSMIC and GNOME are going to end up with the same accessibility backend, @accesskit, developed by the amazing @matt@toot.cafe.Fosstodon
The proposed mask ban in North Carolina will turn people who are trying to protect their health (and the health of others) into criminals.
While the action of the government doesn’t surprise me - the response of the public does. I expected most people to find this type of law appalling - and instead I’m seeing people celebrating what I consider to be eugenics in action.
I wrote about the proposed bill, the public response and the disability community’s right to survive:
open.substack.com/pub/disabled…
#CovidIsAirborne #CovidIsNotOver #CovidCautious #sarscov2 #maskup #WearAMask #CleanAir #Pandemic #Disability #accessibility #DisabilityRights #ableism #Eugenics #MaskBans
Mask bans and revocation of medical exemptions have been all over social media this week - and anti-maskers are reacting with glee. They are celebrating disabled people losing a tool for protection.open.substack.com
This ought to be good. Is this the same Pablo Reguerín who was sitting alongside Chancellor May at an interview with The California Aggie's editorial where May lobbied for the student fee supporting NCAA athlete perqs by likening NCAA athletes to disabled students by saying they too needed "special" supports? And didn't say anything about that? That Reguerín?
Do you know who was among the chancellors who never replied to hundreds of emails regarding UC's ableism? Chancellor May of UC Davis!! @disability @academicchatter
#UCAccessNow #Ableism #UCDavis #DavisCA
The ableist analogy Chancellor May made.
Disabled students don't only PAY to be on campus - no free ride disability scholarship - UC has a legal obligation it continues flouting to be fully accessible to the public funding it. Arguing that the student body should pay fees to support a small % of student athletes/future mega sports corp employees who are given special tutors, a special health building, and other perqs already is not only patently ridiculous, but by likening it in this way to how UC chooses to segregate disabled students instead of being highest common denominator of accessible by default is bound to further encourage resentment of disabled students as a "cost"!
theaggie.org/2021/12/02/editor… @disability @academicchatter #Ableism #CivilRights #UCDavis
This is a photo I took the last time I was trying to get off a plane, but the staff refused to bring my chair to the door. I'm waiting with my wheelchair joystick, headrest, and cushion as the cleaning crew moves through the plane.
The Department of Transportation is proposing new rules to improve the experience of passengers like me. However, rules already exist—the problem is that the gate agents, flight attendants, and airport staff who should follow them either accidentally or willfully ignore them.
The new rules include training, and I'm suggesting expanding the training to all customer-facing staff. I also suggest having the rules clearly posted. If you like these ideas, please consider posting a comment to the DOT in support, either in your own words or referring to mine:
————
I thank Secretary Buttigieg, Senator Duckworth, Director Benjamin, and Disabled activists for this important proposal. As a Disabled air traveler and power wheelchair rider, I have two requests.
1. The current proposal includes "annual training, including hands-on training, of airline employees and contractors who physically assist passengers with mobility disabilities or handle passengers’ wheelchairs." I request that this annual training be provided to all airline and airport staff who interact with customers, not just those who physically assist or handle.
In fact, as a woman with muscular dystrophy who cannot walk at all, my best experiences have been with the people physically lifting me, and my worst experiences have been with gate agents and flight attendants who treat me with disrespect while violating the law. They have raised their voices at me while I'm instructing my assistant in preparing my wheelchair for stowage, threatened to "offload" me from the flight, repeatedly denied me and rolled their eyes when I request that my wheelchair be brought to the door, and repeatedly resisted ensuring adjoining seats for me and my assistant, who sometimes has to physically prevent me from falling forward from the airplane seat.
I request that you expand the annual training to all customer-facing airline and airport staff, including gate agents and flight attendants, because these staff members have significant power over Disabled travelers' safety and experiences.
2. While the DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection policies (which state "Your device must be returned to you in a timely manner as close as possible to the door of the aircraft") and Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights are excellent, they are difficult to call upon in the moment they're being violated. When gate agents, flight attendants, and other staff have tried to pressure me against the law, I have had to resort to finding the DOT's laws and policies on my phone (try doing that in airplane mode!). The times I can successfully excavate and point to the documentation are the only times staff have reluctantly backed down. But I believe the burden of carrying the law around shouldn't fall on each Disabled passenger.
Therefore, I request that these laws and policies be easily visible and available in accessible formats, such as: (a) being posted prominently at gate terminals and check-in desks, (b) being available in print at gate terminals and check-in desks, and (c) being included in onboard brochures at every seat.
I believe these two additions to the proposal will greatly enhance its ability to accomplish its mission to ensure airline passengers who ride wheelchairs can travel safely and with dignity.
————
Link to my comment: regulations.gov/comment/DOT-OS…
Submit your own comment: regulations.gov/commenton/DOT-…
Press announcement: transportation.gov/briefing-ro…
Full text download of the proposed rule: regulations.gov/document/DOT-O…
Aviation Consumer Protection policy on wheelchairs and other assistive devices: transportation.gov/individuals…
Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights: transportation.gov/airconsumer…
Tags: #Disability, #DisabilityJustice, #DisabilityRights, #ableism, #travel
Liking the latest #ATBanter #Podcast Episode 310 - #Ableism Part 4 - atbanter.podbean.com/e/at-bant…
Lots of great thoughts on the hierarchy of ability in our society.
#a11y
This week we cap off our multi-part series on Ableism as Rob, Ryan, and Lis welcome back Shawn Marsolais, founder of Blind Beginnings and host of the Limitless Podcast and disability advocate Amy Amantea to sit down at a round table discussion.atbanter.podbean.com
In searching for an instance to join, I noticed that many do not mention ableism in their ToC. I care about avoiding ableist language, so I picked one that did mention it.
I do notice quite a bit of ableist language in the larger fediverse, so decided to write a blog post of common objections to avoiding ableist language, and my responses to them.
Here it is: medium.com/@kavanaram/avoid-ab…
#Disability #Ableism #AbleistLanguage @disability
Ableist language is any communication that validates the belief that disabled people/bodies/functioning are less worthy of respect than others. Let’s break this down. In an ethical society, every…Kavana Ramaswamy (Medium)
