What if no one came? Blogging Against Disablism Day 2016

[nightengalesknd]

My prior Blogging Against Disablism Day posts are (2006), (2007) (2008) , (2009), (2010), (2011), (2012), (2013), (2014) and (2015)

The local branch of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network threw a party this afternoon. It was officially billed as a Celebration of Autistic Community. Autistic children, adults, families, professionals

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> And it’s the same in media articles written about disability. Typically the author has an ableist slant. Often, people with disabilities show up in the comments to complain. And they are shouted down by other ableist people telling them they couldn’t possibly understand. <<

This is why we need more diversity among reporters, in the media generally, in entertainment, and so forth. I really like the "nothing about us without us" rule. If you're talking about something, ideally, people involved should be part of the presentation, not just the audience.

>>What if the people saying and doing ableist things had to worry as much about getting others to listen as the advocates do now?<<

I keep telling people: You get what you permit, you get what you reward. If you encourage diversity, you'll get more of it. If you let people get away with being obnoxious, you'll get more of it. You can't control the whole world. You can control your little corner of the internet, and usually also your own choices about where to be and who to be with.

It is work. But it's worth it. I've put a lot of effort into cultivating a good audience. Now, by the time I realize someone's flaming my blog, someone else has usually thrown a bucket of water on it. Doesn't happen often; we've got a process for handling it; and folks appreciate having a nice place to hang out.