Social Violence. That’s what I call the day to day interactions with bullies and bigots and big mouths. Those people who intrude into my day to make comment on my body, my disability, and my way of being in the world. It’s a daily occurrence that I could do without. But, I realized only recently […]
“I’m bored talking about this, can we talk about something else?” Sadie is only half joking as she’s listening to Joe and I talk about how difficult it had been for me to get an egg salad sandwich because of some physical barriers that made it impossible for me to hear the sandwich maker and […]
Mall. Shopping. December. Yikes. We were doing some last minute shopping for parcels that need to head west on Monday and the place was packed. This makes pushing my chair arduous because I have to be hyper-alert for the walkees who legs seem to simply not know which way they are going next, like the […]
Fear. Is lessening. Because. We aren’t listening. We, the LGBT+ community, aren’t listening to our own history. We’ve been distracted by the progress made, medically, the advancements made, scientifically, and the benefits resulting, from the research. These are things to celebrate. They are things that have been life giving, life sustaining and life extending. They […]
Independence. I was chatting with a friend who was telling me about going swimming with his kids at a public pool in Toronto. He goes there regularly and he and his kids love it and the time they get together to just play. He was telling me about something that happened, a funny ‘you’ll never […]
Yesterday we were at an event with Ruby and Sadie and their mom. It turned out not to be a really ‘safe environment’ for me. I was subject of both whispered comments and stares. There wasn’t a moment, the whole time, even when the main activity was going on, that I wasn’t being examined, probed […]
Photo Description: A bearded wheelchair user in a blue shirt is in his wheelchair on an ‘ergonometer’ and exercise machine for people to develop upper body strength. It’s used by turning two handles, against resistance, one on each side of the machine in a circular motion. At the gym yesterday, I don’t think […]
I’m going to tell you what we did yesterday, but I’m a wee bit worried about doing so. I don’t want you to think I’m bragging or showing off in any way. That’s not the point of this post. I just want to demonstrate one thing and suggest one thing. First I want to demonstrate […]
“I feel stupid all the time. I didn’t feel stupid today.” This may be the best compliment I’ve ever gotten from someone with a disability who attended one of my self-advocate sessions this year. We had a short conversation after that statement was made. It was bit of a rush because the class was over […]
The existence of ramps and cut curbs does not guarantee the existence of accessibility. Ramps and other adaptations are there because of legal requirements in regards to disability and need for access. Getting in and being welcome when you are in are different things. We live in an era of contradictions. We are aware that […]
