tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post2348826549246196279..comments2024-03-01T03:37:20.420-05:00Comments on I'M SOMEWHERE ELSE: Amanda Foresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04200794053287551087noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post-70390355554145847832011-09-24T22:34:59.284-04:002011-09-24T22:34:59.284-04:00<3 <3 <3<3 <3 <3Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post-29332895459919222392011-09-24T22:27:03.692-04:002011-09-24T22:27:03.692-04:00I am *my* advocate. And other disabled people doin...I am *my* advocate. And other disabled people doing work so that people like me are treated as really real people.<br /><br />People who tell me and people like me to STFU because we're too (whatever) are not.Neurodivergent Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02815685510033244185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post-67257032737394388982011-09-24T14:13:34.344-04:002011-09-24T14:13:34.344-04:00It occurs to me your question may have meant somet...It occurs to me your question may have meant something totally different from how I took it, can you rephrase it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post-20983874227583690402011-09-24T14:12:50.721-04:002011-09-24T14:12:50.721-04:00Wow that's a hard question. Advocacy is such a...Wow that's a hard question. Advocacy is such a big idea that I don't know how to answer it. But I can try to think of some actions that are anti-ableist and I'm sorry if that seems like a not-answer but it's the only way I can think of to answer. This is a list of anti-ableist actions for both disabled and non-disabled people.<br /><br />1. Believing someone when they say they are disabled.<br /><br />2. Believing someone when they say they need a particular kind of support. (I don't mean you're always required to give support to someone, but the reason you don't do it should be because you don't want to take that on, not because you think they asked you for support because they are a liar or they want people to do things for them.)<br /><br />3. Remembering that disabled people have points of view and experiences. For example: being aware that anyone you meet might be disabled. Also: if someone tells you they have a kid who is disabled, ask them about who their kid is and what their kid enjoys and is struggling with, instead of expressing sympathy and focusing on their experience having a kid who is disabled. When someone who is disabled does something you think is weird, don't think about how weird their disability is, try and find out why they did it.<br /><br />4. Noticing that stuff is ableist and pointing it out. (Pointing it out isn't a requirement, not everyone can deal with that kind of interaction.)<br /><br />5. When noticing that stuff is ableist, thinking that it is wrong because of how it would affect a disabled person as well as how it would affect non-disabled people.<br /><br />6. If you are disabled, being someone like "Ron" who lives with confidence and knows that his support needs are important and ordinary. Again, this is something that not everyone can do--like I said, I can't do it--but it makes a big difference and I try to do it even though I usually can't.<br /><br />7. If you are not disabled, talking about your disabled friends and family as if they are normal, complex people worth thinking about.<br /><br />that's all I can think of?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post-3046443638466341832011-09-24T08:30:58.880-04:002011-09-24T08:30:58.880-04:00Can I ask you something? Who are your advocates? W...Can I ask you something? Who are your advocates? Who would, ideally, be your advocate? What does the right kind of advocacy for you look like to you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post-65553053747121037432011-09-24T05:56:12.159-04:002011-09-24T05:56:12.159-04:00There's also the fact that "self-advocate...There's also the fact that "self-advocate" is a qualified statement which implies that the default state of advocacy rests with outsiders who are not disabled. I refuse to use a word which highlights my second-class status when it comes to narrating my own damn experiences. It makes me quite upset.The Untoward Ladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18035737424208837888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post-73662272118254241482011-09-24T03:54:19.131-04:002011-09-24T03:54:19.131-04:00I wonder if you were the person who brought it up ...I wonder if you were the person who brought it up in the thread? anyway I think you had your post up first.<br /><br />I got really frustrated b/c I saw some of rrh's friends on his blog refer to us as "the self-advocacy people." which is a perfect example of why I've started to hate the shit out of that word! it's like a sneaky euphemism to avoid saying "disabled people are dicks, why don't they just go away?" instead it's "the self-advocacy people" like we're a political group.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post-56363361425508636382011-09-24T02:22:49.598-04:002011-09-24T02:22:49.598-04:00This is the 2nd time you and I have posted on very...This is the 2nd time you and I have posted on very similar topics in very close temporal proximity. Weeeeeeiiiird.<br /><br />It seems that we can't win as far as self advocacy (I am so sick of that term) goes. Like, if you're publicly disabled, everything you do is automatically supposed to be advocacy or something. If you choose to advocate, then there's set A of problems. If you choose not to, there's set B.Neurodivergent Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02815685510033244185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466691337834051176.post-66815959975944350262011-09-23T17:44:27.412-04:002011-09-23T17:44:27.412-04:00I've noticed that when disabled people do the ...I've noticed that when disabled people do the exact same thing as normal people it often gets called "self advocacy." I think this is why writing a blog can morph you and other people into being a "self advocate" (or me asking a teacher to give information in a different way). Since you're disabled you can't just be a woman who does things like everyone else, even though you're not a "self advocate" in any absolute way. Really no one is, though some of us are one less than others. (I'm getting better. Sort of. Maybe.)<br /><br />I know there's a history behind the term "advocacy" but I guess I'm ready for some more history.Panchohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14695297748121188470noreply@blogger.com