Cat

Disabled bi cis white woman; early twenties

[m-e-isannoying]

Hello everyone, nice to see you!

It's me.

I go by she/ her.

I'm in love with a trans woman. (If you don't like that, you can fuck off)

I'm not annoying, ME is.

I'm gonna post some of my art on here and some stuff about my life with severe ME/CFS (chronic illness) and disability advocacy in general. Maybe also about other life stuff and stuff I find funny.

Art masterpost

I have a sideblog for AAC symbols: @symbols-by-me

The little gremlin in my comments is my beloved @woman-of-glass

English is not my native language, so I will make mistakes. Also brain fog doesn't make that any easier.

I speak German, English, a little bit of Spanish, a smaller little bit of French and at some point I learned Latin.

If English doesn't work, I might post in German and add an AI translation in English. I won't use AI for writing, drawing or anything else that's not accessibility related.

I won't post regularly; I will disappear for weeks, months or years, maybe even forever. That can have multiple reasons:

1. I'm doing really well and can have a bit more of a life so I spend my energy on that instead of social media.

2. I'm very exhausted and can't interact with people. This is probably because of an ME/CFS crash (flare up).

3. I don't wanna interact with social media :)

I also might not answer even though I'm posting stuff. That's because social interaction is far more draining than just shouting your opinion out in the world and reading random stuff.

I might block you if you're mean or too exhausting to deal with. I will block you if you're ableist, queerphobe (including transphobe!), racist, etc.

Please don't send asks for money - I don't have the energy to deal with that and I will block you.

Also, I'm pretty new to Tumblr and social media in general so I might make stupid mistakes.

If you don't understand something or you need me to change/ mark something for accessibility reasons, please tell me!

There won't be any gifs or videos in this blog. I'm gonna tag every picture with #picture so you can block that tag if you need to. All of my own art and pictures have IDs (please tell me if I forget!).

[ID profile picture: a red and orange octopus in front of a black background that looks a bit grumpy. The octopus is drawn in a rather simple style with thick outlines. End ID]

[ID banner: digital drawing of lots of white lines on black background without any order. End ID]

[flowercrowncrip]

I don’t care how they’re marketed, these things are not wheelchair accessible, especially for large power chairs.

ID: a yellow and black plastic cable cover which is approximately 5-10cm tall with steep sides and looks like a small speed bump /end ID

Every time I go over one I need someone to help hold my chair and get me over it. Even with that support it hurts like Hell and has caused whiplash injuries for me in the past. It’s also very unsafe for others because even with support I cannot 100% control the angle my chair will end up lurching over it (and my chair weighs over 150kg without me in it so it’s not something you want to collide with). It’s also terrifying and makes noises that make me very concerned for my chair’s structural integrity.

If you want your event to actually be accessible to wheelchair users then consider using something more like this:

ID: the same kind of cable cover but it’s fitted with a much shallower ramp with the international symbol of access embossed on the black plastic. The ramps are about a foot long on either side of the cover /end ID

[orteil42]

given the current climate this pride especially i feel i must mention that i love my trans friends, i stand with trans people in the fight against transphobic legislation and those who would enforce it, and this blog is not a good place for you to be if you do not vibe with that

[northern-punk-lad]

‘The biggest rollback of disability rights in a generation’ – Charities respond to Supreme Court ruling

The uk Supreme Court has just done a major rollback on disability rights and is putting more disabled people in danger

[roboticutie]

Under this new ruling, multiple vulnerable groups will be impacted across social care and healthcare sectors. If an autistic person with high support needs, someone with a serious mental illness, or a person with a severe learning disability is locked in a care setting and sedated, but does not actively protest, they will no longer be considered "confined" by the state. They will lose their automatic right to independent reviews, a legal advocate, and protection from closed care cultures.

This ruling states if someone is sedated and does not instigate a complaint regarding their circumstances while ACTIVELY SEDATED, then they have no right to legal checks and balances to preserve their wellbeing??? Is this correct??? The UK is falling apart.

[flowercrowncrip]

As far as I can tell from reading the statement by Mind and the BBC article, this ruling states that people who don’t have the legal capacity to understand why they’re being physically or chemically restrained/ kept in a locked care home or ward etc. are still able to give “consent” to that treatment in a way that it doesn’t count as a deprivation of liberty.

So if someone is chemically sedated, doesn’t understand that’s what’s happening, but doesn’t complain then they could be seen to be “consenting” to that treatment. That’s true even if they don’t know what the medication is, what the effects are, how long they last or that there might be other options.

Because the presence of “consent” means that a restriction wouldn’t be considered “Deprivation of Liberty” it means these people aren’t entitled to deprivation of liberty safeguards, which including having independent checks to make sure that any restrictions to their freedom is proportionate and that they’re not being abused in that setting.

One of the reasons the ruling was made is that it placed an “undue burden” on local authorities. Basically local governments were like “hey we’re massively failing our legal duties to protect incredibly vulnerable people from abuse, any chance you could let us off so we don’t have to do it?” And the UK Supreme Court agreed with them.

[atropreta]

you never realize how many muscles it takes to press a button until you cant use any of them

[isuggestaac]

Always remember communication is more important than speaking.

If you are able to speak? Great. But for those of us who have trouble with it don't try to force us to speak or only view AAC as a "last resort". Anyone can use AAC whether or not they're nonverbal.

[m-e-isannoying]

More politics:

In a part of Germany (Baden-Wurttemberg), the local government is starting a trans*, inter* and non-binary register. As in, if you change your name and gender in your passport, the police will immediately know and basically everyone working for the state will have access to that information. It's fucking scary.

If you live in Germany, you can protest by sending letters to them.

You can find letters and more info here:

[this-is-audism]

audism is the fact that in the US cops are only legally obligated to provide an interpreter after a Deaf person is detained. this results in many Deaf people being murdered by the state for not understanding instructions at things as simple as traffic stops.

many cops make no effort to use alternative communication with Deaf people even after we have identified ourselves as Deaf.

audism is also the fact that our signing is considered threatening and something that warrants murder. audism is the fact that our signing is labeled as gang signs and is used to justify murdering us. (and, for the record, actual gang signs also don't justify murder)

audism is the way Deaf people are accused of lying to "get out of things" when we identify ourselves as Deaf.... which is then used to deny us accommodations like interpreters or written communication.

audism is the fact that multiple Deaf people (mostly unhoused) have been murdered in my city alone in the last 5 years under the premises of "refusing to follow instructions" and "threatening hand gestures" and "gang signs." audism is the fact that Deaf people (and especially multiply marginalized Deaf people such as Black Deaf people) disproportionately experience police brutality even when it isn't lethal.

[m-e-isannoying]

Caresystem in Germany

In Germany, the government is trying to save money in the care sector.

There is a degree to measure how dependent on care you are (Pflegegrad) and the higher the degree the more money and stuff you get. They now want to make it more difficult to get one and if you manage to get one, they want to only give you half the money for the first month.

As in, you are in a horrible situation, you can't do things on your own anymore and the state is like: You can wait three months, right? That's not too bad, right? Let's ignore that your loved ones are already overwhelmed with the care work, maybe even losing their jobs, but you don't need all of this money, right?

it's not even nearly enough money to pay for an actual care service to begin with.

Oh, also, of course the loved ones, who have to take care of you cause no one else will, don't receive any money and won't receive much retirement money in the future. Cause why would they.

Also, care services can pay their nurses less in the future.

Why? Cause apparently the state needs money and wants to take it from the most vulnerable people.

Pflegereform: Ein harter Schlag für die alternde Gesellschaft

Mit ihrer Pflegereform hat die Gesundheitsministerin die Finanzierung der Pflege gesichert. Aber nur für vier Jahre – und zulasten der Verle

[faintlyhauntedsanctuary]

ME/CFS culture is when you feel like you have to pee so for the next twenty minutes you bargain with yourself on whether it's worth it to get up and go to the bathroom

[disability-can-be]

I really do miss the ability to just go for a walk whenever I want :(

[disability-can-be]

"You need an appointment? Okay, we can do tomorrow at 6:30am or seven weeks from now."

[hylianengineer]

There is one very important thing I need people without major dietary restrictions to understand: the distress caused by allergies, celiac disease, and other food restrictions is largely not about the food.

Do I miss some foods I can't eat anymore without getting sick? Sure, but that's not what really bothers me. What bothers me is being excluded from a huge portion of human social life of which food is a crucial component. What bothers me is the stress and social stigma of trying to figure out what I can safely eat. What bothers me is the amount of extra work and cost that is required of me to identify, obtain, and prepare safe foods. What bothers me is people treating my needs like a nuisance, as though I chose to be like this - as though their brief inconvenience to check an ingredients list is unreasonable, when I deal with this every day of my life forever.

I don't miss the food that much. I miss not having to worry about what I eat. I miss freedom. I miss when trying new foods and new restaurants was fun instead of a minefield. I miss not having to plan my entire life around the need for safe foods.

Food is such a basic human need, and a lot of people don't really need to think about it. When your danger foods can be anywhere and everywhere, suddenly your entire life revolves around avoiding them, and it massively sucks. You get used to it and it's not a big deal most of the time, but then you go to a new restaurant, or your office has a potluck, or you've been invited to a party and suddenly it feels just as miserable and exhausting as it ever has.

[tamiveldura]

This.

This.

It took me a long, long time to identify the limits of my unsafe food web. I'm finally in a place now where I'm not constantly identifying problem foods.

I miss the foods I can't eat, sure, but that is such a mild problem compared to the Ongoing, Systemic, and Overwhelming requirement to vett every single item that I want to invest for every single meal or snack for the rest of my life EVEN IF THEY'VE BEEN PREVIOUSLY VETTED AS SAFE because recipes change whenever they want and there are no warnings about that.

My current aggravation is due to the fact that I live in small town middle america, my specialty foods are being purged from my grocery store and not restocked because if you can eat normal macaroni noodles, you're not going to pay three times as much for grain free macaroni and if I'm the only one buying grain free macaroni, they're not going to keep that in stock.

Despite every attempt at the contrary I now have a monthly grocery cart from Amazon. Because I can't get staples like noodles locally.

I have a bento box that I prep a meal in and take with me when I leave the house. Are we going to be out long enough to need it? I don't know, but I can't stop at a Subway and get a sandwich if we are out long enough. I can go hungry.

I cannot buy prepared foods. They are full of unsafe foods unsafe wrappings unsafe cleaners on the machines and utensils used to make them.

"do you want a piece of--"

No. I appreciate you asking but unless you're handing me an orange or a banana that I can peel, I can't eat it.

Preparing food must happen from scratch. No sauces no soups no bases no mixed anythings.

Traveling requires that I bring all my food (already prepared) or have access to both a kitchen and a grocery store AND time to use both AND space to keep the results.

I can't get on a cruise ship. I can't take an overseas flight.

I can't even buy butter.

I don't care about the foods I'm not supposed to eat. I'm exhausted by keeping track of the ones I can.

If this is you, go download the FIG app and save yourself some grief when scanning ingredients off a package.

[m-e-isannoying]

Adding onto this:

While it is really shitty on its own to always have to prepare your food before you go anywhere, it gets worse when you have additional disabilities that make preparing food hard for you.

If you're dependent on care, there are companies that can bring you food to your home (at least in Germany) or you can buy frozen meals etc.. But if you have a lot of dietary restrictions, you have to cook every fucking meal from scratch. Caregivers oftentimes don't even have the time for that or might mix something up.

If you have a lot of dietary restrictions and you need care, you have to entrust your life (cause allergies and stuff can be literally life threatening!) to someone who might be too lazy to read through the ingredients.

And again more general: you have to trust some random food company with your life - who knows if they maybe forgot to write something down? Or you're "just" gambling with your health cause someone decided that "spices" was enough of a description....

[diserbillyti]

maybe my cat is right. maybe eating plastic would fix me

[plasticbagfloatinginthewind]

how do I explain to healthy people that I get disappointed when my blood tests come back normal

[m-e-isannoying]

Did you know that lying on your side is more exhausting than lying on your back?

I do now...

[m-e-isannoying]

Crashs happen so randomly