Comments on: my great outdoor adventure

By: Adventure Holidays

Adventure Holidays — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:27:52 +0000

Thanks for this blog its a really intresting subject!

By: cripchick

cripchick — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 06:05:39 +0000

first of all, a big rolling-on-the-floor LOL to eugenics and parking. feels so good for someone to agree! my dad once told me that when you’re doing work like this, victories we might consider small are important for momentum building. and i also know that accessibility is still such a *huge* barrier for our community so it’s hard to say anything… but at the same time when you have friends your age who are in nursing homes so they can’t get basic care or folks being hit by cars ’cause their bus routes got cut, other things also have to be on the agenda!

i’m so so so so very curious to hear about your involvement in these DIY communities! everything you mentioned has me very excited. there is this really cool social justice retreat center here in the u.s., the leaven center, and they’ve done a lot of work to make their place accessible. having seen that, spaces like this weekend seem like they have so much potential to really being inclusive for all if folks put work into it, you know?

i want to think more about what you said re: hiking but i am glad it is something you brought up. i really enjoy hearing about how people find inspiration through activities like that. i think laura hershey has been doing some writing on similar topics at her blog? http://www.laurahershey.com/

By: shiva

shiva — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 03:15:45 +0000

as a disabled-but-not-physically impaired activist who is involved in squatted, outdoor and otherwise DIY activist spaces, this kind of intersection comes up all the time for me…

like when, back in spring, there was an international weekend of squatted spaces, and in Birmingham we occupied a derelict warehouse and had a weekend of workshops (including one i co-presented on the disability rights movement), we used DIY solutions for access (like an old door as a ramp)… but we didn’t have any accessible toilets, any mains electricity (so lighting was an issue for VI people), any heating (so cold and damp were issues for several impairments), etc…

at the moment, for one activist film night that’s being planned, the venue isn’t wheelchair accessible, but a temporary DIY ramp and accessible outdoor compost toilet (inspired by the ones at the Camp for Climate Action) are being considered as options…

i often feel in situations in non-disability-related activism i’m involved in, when i’m trying to insist on things being accessible, that i’m not being taken seriously, or regarded as being “annoying” or “unneccesarily negative”, whereas a person with a visible, mobility impairment would be taken seriously and regarded as having a “right” to that argument – and then if i identify myself as a disabled person, because i “pass” as non-disabled that identity isn’t treated as serious or valid…

i feel weird about some stuff i’m into on a purely individual level as well – like, i *love*, am massively inspired by, hill walking/hiking and wildlife watching, but those activities are totally inaccessible to several of my closest friends (and accommodations not really possible), and i wonder if i should enjoy them when my friends can’t share in them, where privilege fits into it…

re the last bit, in a town i used to live in, i tried to get involved in the local coalition of disabled people – went to one meeting where agenda issues included right-to-life/euthanasia/eugenics, medical discrimination, and parking. guess which one the entire meeting (of maybe 15-20 people) was taken up by? 2 hours later, it was past the time we were supposed to be out of the room, taxis were waiting for people… and everyone but me was still talking about parking (i didn’t say a word all meeting). i walked out and didn’t come back…