Do you know who has a lot of credit when it comes to me learning to be more courageous about showing my flawed, imperfect self online, now?

It's due to a bunch elementary school children, at the now closed McTavish Elementary School in #CentralSaanich. I did my practicum there after obtaining my specialized teacher's assistant certifications. I worked with FASD, autistic, down syndrome & physically disabled students there. They represented 30% of student population there.

I did an interactive cultural, racial & disabilities bridging awareness program while there. Part of it was showcasing my life as a child war survivor & how me & my family survived war. The other part was showcasing how I was diagnosed with polio. How I was told I'd be living out of a wheelchair for my whole life. How I beat that diagnosis by sheer willpower & suffering much physical pains while forcing my body to learn how to walk against all odds. How I'm in front of them, walking & talking. I invited the kids to ask any questions they wanted & advised staff/parental witnesses to not interrupt kids during Q&A period. The kids asked amazing questions & I answered all of them, openly & honestly. I had a few parents & teachers squirm when one kid asked to see & touch my leg braces. I showed the kids both my leg braces & told them it's OK to touch them & ask me more questions.

This is how I bridge things & create less fears of disabled peoples, from a young age. Most kids are more curious than outright judgemental. Most kids develop understanding of disabled people, if they're taught well.

Don't say you haven't seen horrific #ableism after looking at this thread, which includes an example of some asshole who has *an image of text* that he uses to call someone an "alt text virtue signalling keyboard warrior" for... simply providing an alt text.

And he has the gall to claim he's "empathetic"! While calling simple aid "bullying"!

It's like he asked, "How can I be the maximum possible amount of asshole?" and then went for it.

https://mastodon.art/@Curator/113587867567399133

"le fait de souligner les points de convergence entre Sida et Covid permet de retenir l’importance d’une lutte communautaire contre la hiérarchisation des vies, pour la défense d’une santé publique préventive, orientée patient·es/soins, et en faveur d’une médecine fondée sur des preuves scientifiquement produites et validées."

https://renverse.co/analyses/article/covid-et-sida-mutualiser-les-luttes-pour-la-sante-publique-a-ta-sante-camarade-4851

[Translation bellow]

From Alice Wong, Disability Visibility Project:

"2024 MacArthur Fellows Program"

https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2024/10/02/2024-macarthur-fellows-program/

"Hard to believe but I am a 2024 MacArthur Fellow! This has been a year with lots of highs and lows so receiving this was a surprise and it means a lot."

Times are fucking tough. Come celebrate Crip Culture and disabled liberation. The Superfest Disability Film Festival has been going on for 30 years. This will be my 4th year attending remotely. The documentaries are by and for disabled folx. Watch stories about disabled art, love, activism, and struggle. Fuck hollywood ableist troupe actors, and abled producers. Fuck racist yt mainstream disability representation. Many of the documentaries follow the principles of DJ which centers Black, Native, 2slgbtqia+ disabled stories, and disabled folx of the global majority. You can also watch some of the past years films online. Happy watching, and celebrating a joint love of our diverse disabled art, culture, and community. http://superfestfilm.org/2024-films #disabled #DisabilityJustice #queer #film #disabilityculture #DisabledArt #cripculture #liberation #AntiAbleism #disabled #crip #disabledfilmmakers #documantary #covid #MaskUp

"There are days when I am overwhelmed with grief and rage at the regressive attitudes toward public health and disabled people. In my opinion, the ableist, fascistic, and eugenic nature of proposed mask bans under consideration in New York City and Los Angeles is bleak. But what is happening now is not new or surprising; the hate is more explicit, that’s all.
[...]
Today, the mask is the unsightly marker of deviant individuals: the sick, the immunocompromised, the disabled, and the protester who wishes to keep their identity anonymous. (Many demonstrators at pro-Palestine marches have worn medical masks or other face coverings, both to protect their identity from authorities and to protect their health in large crowds.) We’re told such masked individuals threaten the moral order of society, and these bans are meant to keep the public “safe.”
[...]
Proposed mask bans may vary, but I’d argue they are all steeped in discrimination based on race, disability, class, and religion. Many people wear masks to protect a loved one, protect themself from airborne pathogens, smoke, and air pollutants, and evade surveillance when practicing civil disobedience."

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/mask-bans-disabled-people-protest

American Mask Bans: Why Canadian Abolitionists and Disability Justice Advocates Should Be Paying Attention.
#CovidIsNotOver #DisabilityJustice #AntiAbleism #MaskUp #FreePalestine