Feminism

I’m against transphobia, homophobia, sexism, racism, islamophobia, anti-semitism and the fact that men’s issues are most of the time ignored because they’re supposed to be these sex-crazed, emotionless monsters when they’re not in reality.

[mysharona1987]

[mysharona1987]

[mysharona1987]

[liberalsarecool]

Workers unite! #LaborSolidarity #GeneralStrike

[yuri-alexseygaybitch]

Gee I wonder how people are going to respond to being told they can’t go to parties and see family and friends by the government on one hand and being told they have to go to work every day including if they’re literally infected on the other. It’s almost as if America’s public health agencies and politicians have zero fucking credibility left.

[theconcealedweapon]

[spooniestrong]

Disability activist dies after United Airlines destroyed her custom wheelchair

"Mobility devices are an extension of our bodies. When they are damaged or destroyed, we become re-disabled," Engracia Figueroa said in July

This is unconscionable. 💙🥄

[void-ramen-bog]

TL;DR for y’all, she has a spinal injury that requires special support. After her chair was damaged beyond repair in the cargo hold, she was left stranded in the airport for five hours without proper support for her injury. She was given a loaner chair by the airlines, who refused to buy her a new chair, claiming hers was repairable. Over the next FOUR MONTHS without an adequate replacement, she developed exacerbation of her spinal injury requiring multiple hospitalizations, and skin ulcers from the chair she was given. The skin ulcers became gangrenous and spread to her pelvis and hip, which had to be surgically removed. Yes. part of her pelvis. had to be removed. However, the infection had already spread and become systemic, leading to her death on Oct 31st, less than four months after her chair was damaged.

also from the article: it is estimated that 29 mobility devices are destroyed or damaged EVERY DAY. and I’m going to assume those are only the ones that are REPORTED.

My mom has worked in the airline industry for three decades; I had no idea it was anywhere near this bad. Please be an advocate for your disabled friends and family, and support their concerns when they say no, actually. this isn’t okay.

[cuntess-carmilla]

The screenshot above says:

“Following the July incident, a United spokesperson said that the company apologized to Figueroa and was working to reach a resolution with the repair company. The Department of Transportation estimates that airlines damage or destroy 29 mobility devices a day.”

[magz]

Since the site (News Week) the article is hosted on has a limit to views without pay, here is some more of the pertinent information shown in it and the related links inside of it, for the sake of convenience. This is a featured tweet in the article, from the president and CEO of the American Association for People with Disabilities (AAPD), Maria Town.

Image Description: Tweets by Maria Town, with a link to a different article from Domestic Employers organization, with the preview image being a photo of Engracia Figueroa - a smiling black woman with dark brown skin and coily black and grey hair. The tweets say the following, “ “Engracia Figueroa, a fierce advocate for people with disabilities, passed away on Sunday due to complications from injuries she sustained when United Airlines destroyed her custom wheelchair last July.” #FlyingWhileDisabled #Disability https://domesticemployers.org/hand-in-hand-grieves-the-loss-of-engracia-figueroa United broke Engracia’s wheelchair and refused to replace it. The loaner chair the airlines provided to Engracia did not support her properly. Her skin broke down, became infected, and she died. 2/3 How many hospitalizations and deaths have resulted from airlines inaction and indifference to this issue? Thank you@HiHemployers for your advocacy and for sharing this tribute. Rest In Peace and Power, Engracia. You deserved so much more. 3/3” End of Image Description

Image Description: Screenshots from the News Week article by Toria Branhart and the Domestic Employers Org article by Blithe Riley, about the passing of Engracia Figueroa. A photo of Engracia Figueroa, a black woman in a custom motorized wheelchair, and an accompanying member of the “Hand in Hand” activist group and home care worker organization, Christine Laing, a black woman wearing a mask. Engracia is shown speaking in the “Care Can’t Wait” rally in Washington D.C. from July 2021, at the podium. A quote. “"Mobility devices are an extension of our bodies. When they are damaged or destroyed, we become re-disabled. Until the airlines learn how to treat our devices with the care and respect they deserve, flying remains inaccessible,” the activist said in an interview after the incident.“ “All of us at Hand in Hand are heartbroken, shocked and enraged by Engracia’s needless death. This loss should never have happened. While we are reeling from the layers of injustice this tragedy makes visible, we are holding Engracia’s tenacity and resolve as our guidepost. Lives are at stake in the work that we do, and our current ableist and racist system continues to fail our communities time and time again. We cannot and will not stand by and let these systems of oppression prevail. We demand that United Airlines end the damage of wheelchairs and assistive devices on its flights and create an accessible process for people with disabilities to travel safely, with dignity. Sign and share our petition here.  Please note: this statement was updated 11/5 after Hand in Hand received more details from Engracia’s lawyer about the extent of her injuries.” End of Image Description

So in full: Engracia Figueroa was a black disabled working class woman, as well as a worker and disability activist. She died 4 months after her custom motorized wheelchair was destroyed by United Airlines directly after she came back from Washington D.C., where she attended an activist rally where she demanded better conditions for Home Care workers and disabled people.

The broken $30,000 custom motorized wheelchair was a fire hazard and basically unusable. The wheelchair was necessary for her survival, well-being, independence, and ability to work.

Forced to use it while broken in the 5 hours waiting at the airport, resulted in her hospitalization. “Hand in Hand”, “Caring Across Generations”, “Care Can’t Wait Coalition”, their petition, their media campaign, and (later on) Senator Tammy Duckworth’s office demanded United Airlines take further responsibility. The campaign further highlighted the pervasive issues with airlines destroying mobility aids and other necessary devices.

However, by the time United Airlines agreed to replace the $30,000 wheelchair, Engracia succumbed to her worsened condition due to using an inadequate loaner chair they had previously provided in the time they refused to take full responsibility.

“Hand in Hand” organization points towards the unjustness of systemic both ableism and racism having a hand in her untimely death, and encourage people to sign their petition against United Airline’s damaging of assistive devices.

In my personal view (especially as a black disabled person myself), the intersections of ableism, racism, and classism must be acknowledged when discussing this situation.

Again, the full link for the petition of “United Airlines: End the damage of wheelchairs and assistive devices”, made by Home Care Worker’s organization “Hand in Hand”, is here: https://secure.everyaction.com/tUhs-DW8J0qqU2jbZQMrrA2

[magz]

^^ My previous addition isn’t visible in the reblogs becuase it has links. But basically this was a result of ableism and racism, and I provided more information and a link to a petition that the home worker’s organization she was active in, made and encourage people to sign, to demand an end from United Airlines’ destroying people’s assistive devices.

[theconcealedweapon]

[wilwheaton]

Judge Donna Scott Davenport oversees a juvenile justice system in Rutherford County, Tennessee, with a staggering history of jailing children. She said kids must face consequences, which rarely seem to apply to her or the other adults in charge.

This woman needs to be kicked off the bench and disbarred. Then, she must be prosecuted for abuse of power.

https://www.propublica.org/article/black-children-were-jailed-for-a-crime-that-doesnt-exist

[neil-gaiman]

Read the article. It left me shaken.

[commajade]

nodutdol's extremely thorough thread about the political references in squid game

[closet-keys]

every once in a while i can’t help but think about how wild it is that some lesbian was like “I’m so fucking starved for representation that I don’t watch movies unless there’s at least one scene where two women aren’t talking about a man so I can pretend they’re lesbians for five seconds” and then another lesbian put that sentiment as a gag in a comic, and then straight women took it and ran with it as Official Criteria for Feminist Media and then other straight women got offended by it and now straight women just debate the merits of it back and forth forever while still ignoring lesbian representation (and lack thereof) just as much as they always did

[amygdalae]

i think “video games aren’t really the violent child-corrupting threat some parents worry they are” and “certain circles of gamer culture are incredibly toxic and can lead people down dangerous/hateful ideological rabbit holes” are ideas that can absolutely coexist

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Artificial violence is not actually a corrupting influence but hanging out with assholes sure is.

[weaselle]

also, I think we could probably recognize that like… there is a difference between a game where you beat up a half demon alien cyborg or whatever, and a game partially funded by the US military that glorifies hyper-realistic military operations in a “middle east” coded setting, where everyone with brown skin is an enemy that needs to be gunned down. Like, those things are different.

[mapsontheweb]

The United States — ALL of it

[bonediggercharleston]

Reminder that Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Marianas, American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands and DC don’t have actual representation in congress and only DC can vote for President even though over 5 million people live in these areas

[carolxdanvers]

They drill “no taxation without representation” into our heads like it’s why the country exists… and then omit the fact that allllllll of those people pay taxes and have no say in their government.

[theconcealedweapon]

[ultraviolet-techno-ecology]

Hot take but the nonsensical portrayal of the third world being entirely made of absolute destitution is an important propaganda element that keeps workers in the first world (Particularly the USA) complacent with a lifestyle that will literally kill them. 

[ultraviolet-techno-ecology]

This rice farmer survives on $2 a year! Think about how much they must be suffering! Now get back to your third job stocking shelves so you can pay the $1,500 rent for your studio apartment and eat your 25¢ ramen packet like a good little wage-slave. 

[hug-your-face]

The question that we should be working to inject into such conversations is not “my god how can those people survive on so little” but rather “why does our own survival require so MUCH?”

[ultraviolet-techno-ecology]

This is an excellent framing - and there is an answer. 

When average people have their needs met - they are no longer desperate for basic survival. Comfortable workers have the most energy to challenge the hegemony and organize their community, thus material security and comfort is a direct antagonist to capitalism. 

In a society that has an abundance of resources, desperation must be artificially created through material barriers (needing a smartphone for work, etc) and increasing sources of debt obligation. (Rent, student loans, etc.) 

In other words - we do not require so much, rather new requirements are perpetually created to keep the proverbial carrot just out of reach and the stick chasing our tail. 

This is also why public activities are discouraged in favour of individual distraction. The loss of parks where people may meet without payment. The lack of folk schools which might foster skills in the community. The lack of workshops where people might engage in non-industrial manufacturing. 

And for clarity I do not condemn entertainment as frivolous when I say distraction. That we do not have public (as in “a free community space”) theatres and arcades, is another way to deprive a community of social bonding opportunities. 

[high-quality-tiktoks]

I didn’t factor those extra 15mins into my miserable day

[fluffmugger]

So here’s a fun thing, admittedly very AU centric as this is an AU vid:

If they pull the “company policy” line, ask to see it.  Ask to see it in writing.  Ask to see that they have put in writing that you will be performing 15 minutes unpaid work every day.  Check your contract. 

Spoiler: They haven’t.  ‘cos it’s illegal.

[sgam76]

Absolutely agree. This is really common in the US as well, and I’ve yet to see it written anywhere.

[odinsblog]

“Women’s rights are meant to protect ALL women, regardless of their situation!”