Traveling Show

@iamthethunder / iamthethunder.tumblr.com

Unapologetically pro-autism, neurodiversity, and autistic community R. Larkin Taylor-Parker Feb. 28, 2011

Time is Running Out for Disabled People - Disability Rights North Carolina

Virginia Knowlton Marcus describes the current State vaccination plan and urges Gov. Cooper to prioritize people with high-risk conditions.

disabilityrightsnc.org

North Carolina has decided to de-prioritize a lot of the people who would have gotten vaccinated early before our plan changed. This is dangerous for neurodivergent people who have caregivers coming into their homes and can’t necessarily control what their caregivers do outside of work. It’s also dangerous for essential workers who have chronic conditions that make COVID more risky for them. They have to keep showing up for work, and they can’t necessarily control the public they work with. It’s the same for disabled and chronically ill people who live with essential workers.

We’re trying to get these two groups, people who are higher-risk and can’t really control their exposures, vaccinated soon. We could use some help, especially from anyone with an NC connection who is on Twitter. The hashtag is #HighRiskNC.

phil-of-the-phuture

I remember being in first grade and this white boy asked me why I wear "normal" clothes if I'm Indian and don't Indians only wear feathers? So yes I do think first graders need more awareness about race

Also Sesame Street was made by a bunch of hippies that loved puppets and educators that were trying to reach in-city kids (particularly kids of color) who didn't have access to good education resources.

Sesame Street has specifically addressed racism and other forms of socially oppressive orders since the beginning. Once again Rave Dubin is a moron.

The Unmistakable Black Roots of 'Sesame Street'

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the beloved children’s television show was shaped by the African-American communities in Harlem and beyond

Smithsonian Magazine|Bryan Greene

there’s a difference between “just do a little yoga it will cure your depression forever :)” and “going for a run won’t solve your problems but it will make you feel a little better and that’s the first step” but this site seems to treat them as the same thing

Taking care of yourself is still good even if it won’t cure you. Cleaning my room won’t cure my anxiety or make me less lonely but it is a healthier environment to live in.

It’s National Voter Registration Day!

Election season may not be the happiest season of all, but it doesn’t have to be the most dreadful, either. You can—and deserve—to have a little hope.

What does hope look like?

Hope looks like a vote. If you’re eligible to vote, it specifically looks like your vote. We teamed up with @whenweallvote to make it easy. For some, the deadline to register is fast approaching. Make sure to check with your state for any recent changes to election deadlines.

If you’re on web, you can click into that beautiful unit and fill out the form. If you’re using the app on a mobile device, just tap through to be brought directly to the form on When We All Vote’s website.

Once you’re done registering (or reregistering, if you moved!), the only thing you have to worry about is your actual vote. Scary, right? NO! It’s not! It’s so easy. We made a convenient voting checklist for you to keep on hand to remain calm, cool, and collected throughout the whole process.

You got this, Tumblr.

So I was looking at Biden’s plans to help people with disabilities. Here’s some stuff he wants to do that would make a big, measurable difference:

- Increasing SSI benefits to at least 100% of the Federal Poverty Line (at the moment, this would be an increase of about $3000/year. That would be REALLY HELPFUL.)

- Increase the asset limits for SSI and SSDI - which haven’t been increased in more than 35 years. Right now if you have more than $2000 at any time, you lose your benefits.

- Marriage equality for disabled people! - For people on SSI be able to get married without losing our benefits! (As it stands right now, you can lose your benefits even if they suspect you’re ACTING like you’re married - the “holding out as married” rule.)

I’m about out of spoons tonight, but go read it! If even SOME of it gets passed, it could be really good!

This is in contrast to the Republican position, which is *checks notes* “If they’re going to die, they’d better do it, and decrease the surplus population”.

(Seriously, if Trump gets re-elected, I, and many other disabled people, will be so entirely fucked. He wants to destroy Social Security, I would be homeless and starving in the streets.)

Some of the positions of Biden going into this election:

Abolish the death penalty.
End cash bail as it disproportional punishes the poor.
End cocaine sentencing disparity as racist
Eliminate mandatory minimums
Scrap past marijuana convictions
Eliminate private prisons
Raise minimum wage to 15$/hour
Supports a government mandated 12 weeks of paid family leave for all workers
Two years of college free
Expand student debt forgiveness, including 10K of forgiveness for all student loans and complete forgiveness for all undergraduate loans from 2 and 4 year public colleges and universities, and other loan forgiveness and payment reduction plans.
Eliminate funding gap for k-12 schools based on location (essentially between white and non white/poor and non poor division) with specific first steps outlined to do so.
Increase teacher pay, especially in underfunded schools (poor and POC schools)
Plan outlined to get us back in on the Paris agreement and goal of switching to clean energy by 2035 with first steps specified.
Supports voluntary gun buyback (similar programs have had huge success in reducing gun violence in other countries)
Supports firearm registry
Supports universal background checks for fire arm purchase
Supports huge expansions of medicare and the creation of a public run health insurance option that everyone is automatically enrolled in if they lose other coverage. You would also be able to use this free option if you did not want to use employer coverage. He has moved left in a huge way since the pandemic came into full swing but most people just ignore it. There is a good chance that by the time we get to the point of implementation he could just go medicare for all.
Citizenship for dreamers (DACA)
Outlined steps for increasing the quality of life, access to resources, and autonomy of disabled people, including expansion and strict enforcement of non discrimination policies
Universal hazard pay for “front line” workers during the pandemic
Specific first steps outlined for reducing systematic LGBTQ discrimination
Large increase of taxes on the wealthy, including a direct wealth tax and increasing taxes on corporations, with short term proposals in place that include undoing much of the damage done by trump.

You will notice that a lot of these positions can be described as halfway progressive. As in they move in the right direction but stop short of the ultimate goal. Sure, we didn’t win the primary and get a truly progressive candidate in, but the strong showing of progressive ideals during the primary means that we strong armed the democrat party into compromising with us. We forcibly moved the Overton window significantly left, imagine if we did this election after election! We could force real change regardless of the presidential candidate that is ultimately chosen.

We are slowly winning, but in order for it to stick we have to demonstrate that progressives will reward the shift in our direction. We absolutely need to vote Biden in, as well as support democrats in the senate, congress, and local levels. We need to prove that progressives are a powerful political group that can make promises and deliver to those who compromise with us. This is critical for the long term viability of progressive politics.

Biden isn’t just damage control. We wont be sprinting towards an ideal world but we will be taking significant steps in that direction. Don’t throw away all the progress we made because you don’t like the names on the ticket.

thisisnotmyhomeplanet

Please read, this is so important.

thesaltofcarthage

There’s a difference between compass statements and navigational statements.

“Compass” means “this is the general direction I want to go. This is my ultimate goal.” Such as “ending the school-to-prison pipeline.”

“Navigational” means “the steps I take to get there.” One might be “defund the police.” A different one might be “abolish private and for-profit prisons.” Another might be “universal basic income.” Or any combination of those.

You may not care for Biden’s navigational statements, but the point is the compass statements. Is he going in the right direction? Does he want basically what you want? Then you vote for him. Because you know the Orange Cockwomble IS NOT going in that direction.

Worry about navigation once we’re pointed the right way. There are many roads to take to get to our goals. Backwards isn’t one of them.

theroguefeminist

Just want to add that these policies will save lives. They will mean the difference between some of the most vulnerable people in the US regaining some of their basic rights and material needs which we NEED to sustain the movement. Biden may be a centrist liberal who does not share our progressive goals but some of the things he will pass will mean survival and the means to maintain activism

Here it is! The instructions to make a pieced and quilted plague doctor mask!

Just as a heads up, this pattern is not really recommended for beginners. There is not a whole lot of explanation of the basic techniques, and it requires a fair bit of precision, two types of fusible interfacing, and an assumption that you can keep a consistent seam allowance and do some hand sewing and know when to sew things right sides together and such.

I am not promising anything, different methods will yield different results, I have never made a pattern exactly as it was written and neither should you. If you want something the same as the next person, go to the shops.

Actually, nevermind, this is a quarantine craft, stay home.

What Neurodiversity Is

Self-determination for adults with disabilities. News from disability communities and the wider world's impact on us. An Autistic young professional's story.

autisticfuture.com

“Neurodiversity isn’t a feel-good concept for successful people who are “a little different” but doing fine. It’s the courage to entertain the idea that people with significant disabilities can have lives worth living and embrace that idea’s excruciating implications for what lives wasted by filicide, institutionalization, other forms of segregated, congregate settings, and even low expectations and learned helplessness in the community might have been. It’s living with the knowledge that human lives are being wasted that way now. Neurodiversity is an idea for strong people, as it bites and claws at everyone who embraces it. There is no way to imagine a better world without confronting how bad things are and have been. The ensuing sense of outrage routinely changes the course of people’s lives.“

#actuallyautistic #actually autistic

Autistic Future

Self-determination for adults with disabilities. News from disability communities and the wider world's impact on us. An Autistic young professional's story.

autisticfuture.com

Of course, these tactics are not always sufficient to prevent inspiration porn, and whether to cooperate with a given story is always a judgement call. People who are looking for inspiration porn will sometimes find ways to read it into the most dignified coverage of a disabled person achieving something worthwhile. Adding context on social media, speaking out about the problems with lower-quality coverage, entering into dialogue with people who want to discuss the story, and otherwise trying to get some modicum of control of the narrative, as Haley Moss has on Twitter in recent days, all help to reduce the harm and increase the odds that a story will change perceptions. Ultimately, there are parts of the process of media coverage and a story’s flow through social media networks that are outside of the control of its subjects, but Autistic adults can exercise some agency before and after content is created.

#actuallyautistic #actually autistic

autisticadvocacy

autisticadvocacy

2019 Anti-Filicide Toolkit

In the past five years, over 650 people with disabilities have been murdered by their parents, relatives or caregivers. On Friday, March 1st, the disability community will gather across the nation to remember these disabled victims of filicide – disabled people murdered by their family members or caregivers. We see the same pattern repeating over …

autisticadvocacy.org|Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Our Anti-Filicide toolkit includes information about how to understand and respond to filicide, frequently asked questions about filicide, and a guidebook for Day of Mourning vigil site coordinators.

#actually autistic #actuallyautistic #ddom #ddom2019 #disability day of mourning

Autistic Future

Self-determination for adults with disabilities. News from disability communities and the wider world's impact on us.

autisticfuture.com

“We can help the most vulnerable people resist this kind of senseless violence, but we have to care about them and prioritize them in the way we only will when we value their lives equally with all other human lives first. If we want filicide to stop, we have to decide once and for all that there is more to life than being conventionally useful.“

#ddom #ddom2019 #disability day of mourning #actuallyautistic #actually autistic

housing situation [urgent - need place by April/May]

DC/Baltimore area folks: I found out today that my sublease will be ending in April-May due to the main leaser’s lease not getting renewed. Please let me know if you have any leads on short-term rooms to stay in the DMV area that will accept a cat and the cat’s queer, disabled owner.

I can afford a little in rent and utilities and can try and contribute to the household while I try to get benefits processed. I am autistic, nonbinary, and queer. I am generally quiet though I do keep odd hours due to a sleep disorder. I can provide my own food.

[February 28, 2019]

Kit Mead is creating Disability Rights Blogging/Fiction Writing | Patreon

Please consider supporting me to create, make change, and survive.

www.patreon.com

I’ve been part of Autistic Tumblr since 2013. You might also know me for Psych Ward Reviews, or as a mod with AWN Network. Due to health issues, described here, I need help. If you’d consider supporting me on Patreon, donating to my PayPal.me and/or GoFundMe, or boosting this stuff, I’d be grateful.

About the Patreon

I write about ableism, policy issues, disability representation, intersecting issues, and my experiences at Paginated Thoughts. I also write fiction (that Tumblr is @alexi-of-carthanas). My main novel is about a talking cat and some humans getting justice against a magical research facility.

Some of the reward tiers include cat pictures, writing things for you, or giving you access to excerpts. Until Jan. 31st, 2019, you also get a one-time reward for:

$5 and up: I will write 300 words of fiction or blog post (nothing nsfw, and I may ask you to pick another blog post topic if it contradicts my views)
$35 and up: I will critique or beta/sensitivity read your work, up to 5000 words. (for fiction, nothing nsfw)

Please consider supporting me to create, make change, and survive. Thank you so very much for reading!

#actually autistic #actuallyautistic

Autistic Future: What Tumblr Was

Since Verizon announced the new rule, people who have used, loved, and hated Tumblr have been eulogizing it. In the commentary on the social network, its past, and its likely-limited future, autism comes up as a theme among critics and mourners alike.

autisticfuture.com

“This community, known as Autistic Tumblr, is not the oldest online gathering place for Autistic people, but it is distinguished in its diversity, accessible entry-point to the community, organically pro-neurodiversity posture, and success as a starting point for younger Millennial activists…

Autistic Tumblr became a small but discernible community in the very early 2010s. It started on tags like #aspergers and #autism. The population might well have fit in a high school classroom without feeling too cramped. Tumblr, then a growing social network, drew in new members rapidly. Most were in their teens or twenties. Some happened to be Autistic.”

@iamthethunder wrote a piece on Autistic Tumblr and what it was, what it is, and the questions about its future based on Verizon’s decision. I’m not going anywhere until the site straight up gets shut down, and I hope that day is not drastically imminent, but we should be prepared.

What Tumblr Was

This community, known as Autistic Tumblr, is not the oldest online gathering place for Autistic people, but it is distinguished in its diversity, accessible entry-point to the community, organically pro-neurodiversity posture, and success as a starting point for younger Millennial activists. Whether or not it continues to exist, what happened there will ripple through, at least, the English-speaking Autistic community for years to come..

autisticfuture.com

I wrote something about us.

#actually autistic #actuallyautistic

Back up your stuff.

Even if it may not seem important. Maybe ask your friend who hasn’t logged in lately to do the same. Interesting things happened here. Don’t be the reason some grad student can’t find a primary source on them.

#actually autistic #actuallyautistic #autistic #autism

Help my Disabled, Chronically Ill Friend with their Medical Bills organized by Kit Mead

One of my friends (who chose to stay unnamed atm), is badass, disabled, and chronically ill - and has some unpaid medical bills they can't cover on their own.

www.youcaring.com

I have a friend who is disabled and chronically ill, and has had a lot of medical expenses, including the past year. They need to pay $1400 in medical bills so they don’t go into debt, and can keep getting medical care.

They’ve tried to find help paying these to no avail. My friend has helped me through some difficult times, including my third psych inpatient stay, and also has cats that rely on them.

Sharing or donating any amount helps. Thank you for reading!

I know @k-pagination in real life. They know the recipient in real life and wouldn’t be posting this if it weren’t a serious thing. Help if possible.

#actuallyautistic #actually autistic #actually disabled

DDoM is about mourning the dead. It's also about protecting the living and making the statement that every single human life is important, significant, and worthwhile.

#actually autistic #actuallyautistic #ddom2018

Reading List for the Disability Day of Mourning #DDoM2018

Today is March 1st, 2018, and the Disability Day of Mourning for disabled people murdered by caregivers.

This is a non-exhaustive reading list. You can also read and share ASAN’s Anti-Filicide Toolkit here.

You can browse the ASAN Tumblr for more readings and updates.

I felt the need to do this, for DDoM 2017. It’s not good but it came from something real. by @glittersnowflakes
“But the truth, it seems, is much more cruel a thing for them to be able to see / We are not fairy children; nor angels, nor starseeds or demons from under the sea, / We are human beings, with hearts and souls, our blood is red as yours when we bleed”
On Our Backs We Will Carry Them by Ari Ne’eman at the ASAN website
“Had they lived, they might have found us someday… They might have become a part of the precious sweet moments that bond us together in joy and not in sorrow. They might have been a part of our conversations, our arguments and our debates… The names on that list were robbed of us, and we were robbed of them as well… We are gathered here today to take back the personhood of all those names who we read today.”
Speculative Fiction To Read On The Disability Day of Mourning by Ada Hoffmann:
“Media shapes the stories that we tell ourselves about real life – often without us realizing. So media has a role to play in reminding us that disabled lives are worth living. Often the media doesn’t do this job; sometimes it does the reverse… But more often I see media fail by accepting our preventable deaths with a sad shrug.”
BADD: Connecting dots by Bev at Square 8
“Somebody calls autism a tragedy. Somebody kills an autistic person. Somebody doesn’t see how these two events are connected. I try to explain. I try harder. It happens again and again and again and somebody ‘splains it away.”
List of Disabled Filicide Victims of Color at the Autism Wars
Honoring the Dead at Autistic Hoya (Lydia X. Z. Brown)
“And when in the popular media the most common response to a disabled person’s murder is, “what a relief it must be that society and their family no longer has [sic] to bear the burden of caring for them,” that type of rhetoric tells me exactly where we still are and the kind of fight that we still have, the kind of challenges that we still face.“
Memorial to Katherine (Katie) McCarron at Ballastexistenz (Mel Baggs)
“There’s even a number of communities of autistic people. I don’t always get along with them, but maybe you would have. Even though I often find trouble in these communities, the people in them still understand me better than most people do, and I have some close friends there. That level of understanding was unthinkable most of my life… but adulthood has been worth it, and I wish that you could experience what this is like.”
Killing Words by Zoe Gross
“Let me present to you a sequence of events. If you wrote an article about George Hodgins’ murder, or if you gave a quote for one, or if you covered it on television, or if you blogged about it, or if you commented on it, and if you said that no one should “judge” the murder as wrong, if you said that Elizabeth Hodgins was “driven to murder” by George’s autism or by “lack of services,” if you called the murder “understandable,” if you said “it wasn’t a murder, it was a mercy killing,” if you said “all parents of special-needs children have felt this way,” please take a minute to wonder if Patricia Corby heard you.”
Letter To A Baby Who Was Thrown From A Bridge by Astra Milberg
“When I read about your fall in the newspaper, my heart hurt. I know that the police are still trying to find out if your mother dropped you or if you were tossed over the guardrail… The fact is, as soon as people knew you had Down Syndrome, that changed the story. There are two things you need to learn… And I, a woman with Down Syndrome, want to be the first to give you the second bit of news. Yes, you come from people who have a history of being thrown away, but you also come from a group of people who have learned how to survive.”

Disabled Students

If you start school soon, good luck this year. I hope your paperwork satisfies everyone, no one questions your accommodations, and any meetings are short. You guys are in my thoughts, and my prayers if you feel comfortable with that, especially if you are starting a new degree program, going to a new school, facing a new group of instructors and wondering how easy it will be to enforce your rights, leaving home, taking on something you were told you could never do, worried about accessibility or getting the accommodations you need, trying to manage school with a complicated intersectional identity or confronting coursework that your disability makes especially hard. Your studies are important. People in the disability community and our allies care about you and hope you have a good year.