activism Archives - Writing from Neverland

September 17, 2019September 17, 2019

On The Renaming of Awards

I’ve mostly hermited the past two weeks or so, having gone directly from Dragon*Con into a short week at my day job which generally means twice the work and twice the intensity and urgency of every. little. thing. all compacted into three days before you get a small breather before the normal end of week shenanigans begin.

Which is why I haven’t said anything on this yet. First, let me state that, Jeannette Ng’s speech was a thing of awesome and I am so happy and proud that they finally renamed the award to Astonishing. It’s been a long time in coming and I am happy to have been able to see it happen in my lifetime.

The renaming of the Campbell Award to the Astonishing Award has brought back up the possibility of renaming the Tiptree Award.

Now, straight up, I will tell you right now that as a SFF writer and reader, I love what the award stands for. I will also tell you that as a disabled person, the idea that this award is named for Alice Sheldon/James Tiptree Jr is overwhelmingly abhorrent. Before you click further, I will let you know that the explanation involves some sensitive topics, primarily murder by caregiver.

November 7, 2018

Election Day 2018

Election Day 2018. Despite the PTSD from past elections, my housemate and I are settled into the couch with the returns on the tv as we work on our laptops. We both look kind of bad at the moment because Tuesday started very early for us. We live in TN and Monday had some very severe weather which lead to some pretty massive flooding in our hobbit house.

We estimate that we took about 96 gallons of water out of the study and downstairs bedroom before we quit for the night er morning.

Luckily my day job has weather emergencies built into the PTO plans so I could call out and spend most of the day today assessing the damage, cleaning up the mess, and also plotting out what to do about it in both the short term and the long term.

So tonight we are hoping and praying and watching. Turnout has been good, but the stories of voter suppression have also been way more blatant and prevalent than normal.

Here’s to hope and to all those who voted and called and canvassed and texted and acted.

No matter what, tomorrow is another day, and we still have to pick ourselves up and carry on.

March 3, 2018

Disability Day of Mourning 2018

Today is the Disability Day of Mourning. The day we take to remember all the disabled people who have been murdered by caregivers, parents, relatives, etc for nothing other than the fact that they were disabled.

It’s especially poignant this year because with HR620 weakening the ADA, the fights over the ACA, and then FL’s Baker Act being overhauled and the fact that with the recent shootings, mental health stigma is at an all time high and both the mentally ill and the disabled are currently being demonized more in the press.

There’s talk here and there about asylums and institutionalization and I can’t help but wonder how many more people are going to lose their lives or just up and disappear and we never really know what else happens to them.

I wonder if it’ll be me one day.

See;

I don’t need to be cured.
I don’t need to be fixed.
I won’t allow you to ignore me.
I won’t allow you to minimize me.
I don’t have to earn my personhood.
I’m not worthless.
I’m not broken.

I won’t be silent. Because;

I AM disabled.
I AM a user of adaptive tech.
I AM a person.
I AM whole.
I AM worthy of respect.
I WILL defend myself and my peers.
I WILL call you out on your ableism.
I WILL keep advocating for accessibility.

Today we light a candle and say the names of the dead. Tomorrow we keep fighting.