Reblogging as this is so important everyone! My mum had breast cancer and that shit is not nice so please check yourself ladies and gents! 💕💕💕
One time when I was a kid a group of girls and I had to treat another student for hypothermia by ourselves because she had so many invisible health issues that the adults we asked for help didn't believe us. The student in question was actively hallucinating. When I finally ran for help the people I grabbed were slow as shit to respond, casually joking about how "dramatic" the person in question was.
The kid was picked up by an ambulance 30 minutes later.
Now as an adult working in security I get SO MANY folks- upper-middle aged mostly- coming to me to 'rat out' people they think are faking it.
I was once sent into a bathroom because a client demanded that the "fucker won't get out, so go drag them out"- I was NEVER going to do that, so I did a wellness check instead. You know who it was? A person recently released from the hospital after a car accident. They had a hole in their skull and major hearing loss. They couldn't answer the owner because they couldn't HEAR the owner.
Another time about a homeless man who got around town by kicking the ground from his wheelchair. "You know he doesn't actually need that thing, his legs work fine, it's just for pity points"- Oh, so he's not paralyzed, his wheelchair is performative? Funny story Dale, I actually know that guy, he was backed over by a truck and has chronic pain from his shattered pelvis. But sure, let's make him stand up and walk everywhere so nobody feels too bad for him and tries to help him or something.
"She doesn't need that scooter, I've seen her get out of it."
"Look how fat he is, because he just rides around and refuses to get up."
"She doesn't really need that cane- she comes here without it all the time"
Sincerely, truly, from the bottom of my heart- as someone who isn't physically disabled but hears this shit all the time- fuck off
As an ambulatory wheelchair user, I say from the bottom of my soul to all of the people to everyone who thinks I'm faking it -- I wish you that you too, one day, have to deal with everything I deal with.
With a double helping of insurance fuckery on top.
People really just lose all awareness of your body when you're a wheelchair user. When I'm at the grocery store, I have close calls constantly, and it's on me to dodge pedestrians who I seem to be invisible to until they sometimes literally trip over me.
I've been almost run over several times by drivers I could make eye contact with at crosswalks. I've been openly scolded for not moving my grocery cart fast enough when the person scolding me was blocking my way to my cart. I've had people ram their grocery carts into mine because I couldn't stop fast enough and they didn't "realize" I was there.
None of this happens when I can walk.
"It's not their fault" FAQ under the cut
Q: Maybe they didn't see you because you're not at eye level!
A: In my chair I'm about the height of a third grader. People don't ram their grocery carts into third graders. If someone is paying so little attention that they almost run someone my height over, they are an active danger to children, too.
Q: Maybe you were moving too fast!
A: I literally never go full speed indoors or outdoors because of this issue. I am regularly outpaced by small children walking when I am in stores because of how prevalent this issue is.
Q: Maybe you're hard to notice!
A: My wheelchair is bright, sparkly green with rainbow spokes. I have a headlight and a tail light. I am not.
Q: It was just an accident!
A: Yeah, sometimes, I'm sure it is. I would be a lot more sympathetic about that if it wasn't a coin toss if they'll just run off (sometimes bumping into me while they do) or if they'll start aggressively blaming me because they feel bad about it and externalize that shame as anger at me.
This is a real response that happens constantly.
Q: I'm sure other people would step in!
A: People will sometimes step in when I am sitting somewhere unable to get past. When I can speak and say "excuse me," people usually even notice me and move out of the way while apologizing (it's not that deep). Or someone else will notice and get the attention of the person ignoring me.
When I can't speak I've spent several minutes waiting for a car to move out of the way of a wheelchair ramp as I wave both arms to alert the driver I need it. I've had people raise their voice at me, a stranger, to scold me for being in their way, while other strangers just look away.
Sometimes someone will come up to me after and say they thought about intervening but just didn't. Usually with an excuse. I try to be gentle but I know that if I tell them I forgive them they won't step in next time either.
No one has ever deescalated between me and an aggressive person yet.
Q: Maybe they have a disability which makes it so they literally can't notice you!
A: Every blind or visually impaired or hard of hearing or deaf person I have ever run into or has ever run into me has been really normal about it. Usually they'll tell me they ran into or didn't notice me because of X sensory disability, we'll both apologize, and we go our separate ways.
Q: I don't like this post because I've done this and it's not personal I was just [focused/distracted/day dreaming/stressed]
A: Don't do it again. If I take this in good faith, I've already explained how doing this stuff is also putting children in active danger.
I would also ask you to really consider what you're feeling. When we've done something in the past and learned it hurt others we often feel shame or embarrassment. These feelings make it harder for us to learn and recognize how we can be better community members to the people around us.
+1. This is absolutely true, the temporarily ableds do this constantly. Disabled folk generally have the grace to apologise. Temporarily ableds act like you aren't even there most of the time.
"The new paeds doctor is hot." Alec grumbles as he comes into the on-call room from an overnight shift, tossing bloody nitrile gloves into a trash bin. "Which means he's probably either married or straight. Or he hates blonds. Or he just wants to be friends. Or he wants me to be his supplier. Or possibly he needs to see Tanner in Inpatient. I've never had a boyfriend in Inpatient before, that'll be a new experience."
"He may ask to know your favourite dinosaur." Eve says with a poker face.
Well, what does he want to do with his entire day? The last time Alec took a day off he had a raging fever and he'd hallucinated the Yalta Conference in his bedroom. (He's never buying that brand of cold medication again.)
Usually he just goes to work and comes home again.
James is looking at him. "Well?"
"I don't know." Alec replies honestly, sitting on the edge of the bed with his tea.
"Well, what do you usually do?"
"I go to work. I do what I'm told. I go where I'm sent. I'm a very good dog, James. I've always been a very good dog."
James is running his fingers through Alec's hair. "But you haven't been treating yourself very well. Good dogs need love and play and affection, someone to care for them. You haven't had any of that. What do you want?"
Alec drinks his tea and tries to decide what he wants.
I was on a medication that had one particular side effect that was so awful, if you got that side effect you had to take *another* medication just to combat that side effect (looking at you, Abilify. you broke my heart)
as a usamerican (😔) i do wish we had more (active) Not usamericans in this fandom. thats like the one thing I miss from my other fandoms, the intl rep/variety. its also esp glaring/jarring here cuz uhhh.... dis bich supposed to be british lmao. i do try to be cognizant of where I realize Im being rly usamerican abt things (tho admittedly i also take a more pert-for-humorous-effect stance when I do the, "or __ as the brits call it" thing). but its just like.... need more native-y and native adjacent perspectives to put us usamericans in our place lmao.. and also provide the like. "soft skills" things that you/we/i wouldn't think of...
how else am i supposed to osmosis the ins and outs of british grocery store politics..... 😔🥲
Forgive me, some supermarket headcanons that got out of hand:
Moneypenny goes to M&S for lunch; she gets Q Percy Pigs when she's feeling nice
Q and Tanner enjoy competitively Tesco meal deal maxing (there's a subreddit and everything); Q always goes for an energy drink, Tanner is worried for his health
Tanner does like the value of Aldi/Lidl for the family shop, though; he's a sucker for a middle aisle deal
Pre-retirement Bond probably goes wherever is closest; he's never had a loyalty card; bonus points for rescuing yellow sticker end of date food, it's not like he stocks up for the long term
Post-retirement Bond spends a fortune at farmers markets because 'supermarket fruit and veg is an abomination, Q, and never tastes like it does abroad' and Q gets fed well so he only complains a little
Hello @halfbaked00q , I’m Italian and ready to provide borderline. annoyingly details about whatever adventure 00Q may have in an Italian supermarket or worse, farmers market.
Q will be forever scammed, convinced to buy overpriced vegetables clearly off season.
Bond will be equally scammed, but by the charming 80 years old lady farmer with arthritis bended fingers.
Moneypenny the only wise one scoffing at both of them, having a free aperitivo with all the free samples she’s handed..
@halfbaked00q there is a HUGE difference just between north and south Italy, imaging between UK and Italy! 🤣🤣 Q will be constantly soaked in SPF and wearing an hay hat (??? Unsure of the term), growing his own vegetable garden at first following a manual, then, after a stern dress down by a local neighbor (all in incomprehensible Italian dialect), following his direction.
Oh and OBVIOUSLY all the lot will be bullied to help the family ritual or doing the salsa. Liters and liters of tomato sauce to can for the winter ahead.
And canning tomato sauce (or jam, or anything else) is sweaty, hot work. Boiling jars, boiling pots of sauce, boiling ring lids, boiling everything. Everyone in the kitchen is sweating. Instructions are given, likely by old grandmothers who have done this before you were born.
@phinniastuff Bond will not be trusted with anything but maybe (maybe) closing the lids. Or moving the crates full of upside down jars. Q on the other hand will be deemed too scrawny for that thus forced feed with steaming glasses of hot sauce, that will make him even more sweaty, and close to faint.
@l219tj-or-elle They'd let Bond test the sauce, that would be allowed, I think, but they'd have Opinions about whether it would be Right. His opinions, of course, are different from theirs, they are the Wrong opinions, according to the Grandmother Posse and therefore Irrelevant. They shake their head at him and feed Q more sauce. He's far too thin and needs to eat more.
as a usamerican (😔) i do wish we had more (active) Not usamericans in this fandom. thats like the one thing I miss from my other fandoms, the intl rep/variety. its also esp glaring/jarring here cuz uhhh.... dis bich supposed to be british lmao. i do try to be cognizant of where I realize Im being rly usamerican abt things (tho admittedly i also take a more pert-for-humorous-effect stance when I do the, "or __ as the brits call it" thing). but its just like.... need more native-y and native adjacent perspectives to put us usamericans in our place lmao.. and also provide the like. "soft skills" things that you/we/i wouldn't think of...
how else am i supposed to osmosis the ins and outs of british grocery store politics..... 😔🥲
Forgive me, some supermarket headcanons that got out of hand:
Moneypenny goes to M&S for lunch; she gets Q Percy Pigs when she's feeling nice
Q and Tanner enjoy competitively Tesco meal deal maxing (there's a subreddit and everything); Q always goes for an energy drink, Tanner is worried for his health
Tanner does like the value of Aldi/Lidl for the family shop, though; he's a sucker for a middle aisle deal
Pre-retirement Bond probably goes wherever is closest; he's never had a loyalty card; bonus points for rescuing yellow sticker end of date food, it's not like he stocks up for the long term
Post-retirement Bond spends a fortune at farmers markets because 'supermarket fruit and veg is an abomination, Q, and never tastes like it does abroad' and Q gets fed well so he only complains a little
Hello @halfbaked00q , I’m Italian and ready to provide borderline. annoyingly details about whatever adventure 00Q may have in an Italian supermarket or worse, farmers market.
Q will be forever scammed, convinced to buy overpriced vegetables clearly off season.
Bond will be equally scammed, but by the charming 80 years old lady farmer with arthritis bended fingers.
Moneypenny the only wise one scoffing at both of them, having a free aperitivo with all the free samples she’s handed..
@halfbaked00q there is a HUGE difference just between north and south Italy, imaging between UK and Italy! 🤣🤣 Q will be constantly soaked in SPF and wearing an hay hat (??? Unsure of the term), growing his own vegetable garden at first following a manual, then, after a stern dress down by a local neighbor (all in incomprehensible Italian dialect), following his direction.
Oh and OBVIOUSLY all the lot will be bullied to help the family ritual or doing the salsa. Liters and liters of tomato sauce to can for the winter ahead.
And canning tomato sauce (or jam, or anything else) is sweaty, hot work. Boiling jars, boiling pots of sauce, boiling ring lids, boiling everything. Everyone in the kitchen is sweating. Instructions are given, likely by old grandmothers who have done this before you were born.
HUD workers say Trump admin is violating civil rights law
A website with anonymous employee letters accuses the Trump administration of undermining work on housing discrimination. HUD says it's rest
A small number of current and former employees of the Department of Housing and Urban Development launched a website Thursday to accuse the Trump administration of blocking enforcement of federal fair housing laws. They chose to remain anonymous out of concern they'd be fired for speaking out.
"This administration has ground fair housing enforcement to a halt," states one letter, posted on DearAmericaletters.org. "Worse, they're picking and choosing which protected classes count."
"I pray for justice for every person unfairly denied a safe place to live," states another.
A third, signed by "a tired HUD employee," states, "Months later, I still think about the people impacted by the work I was forced to abandon."
Last fall, two HUD civil rights lawyers were fired after going to Congress with concerns that the agency was unlawfully restricting fair housing enforcement. More than six months later, "it's still happening," says one of them, Paul Osadebe, who helped launch the site and spoke to NPR in his personal capacity, and as a union steward with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 476.
"We're not being allowed to help the people that we're supposed to be serving," he said. "If it's something to do with race, if it's anything to do with gender, you're just not allowed to touch that anymore."
NPR has requested comment from HUD about the accusations by agency employees.
I've reblogged this post before but this is the first time I've seen it on my dash since I started using a walking stick and rollator myself. They've made such a difference.
vaporwave
yousharknotpass
blakekathryn
titsay
