cripchick's blog

cripchick: if we’re looking at movement leadership as folks that are beyond the political game, then everything is fragmented. the only way i’ve come to peace w/ the movement is saying fuck that, we’re going to do our own thing and build our own disability rights movement.

friend: I think you are looking at things the wrong way. The suits in DC have never been the movement, they have never done the heavy lifting, they have never carried the burden, they have never been the movement. The movement exist in every poor crip that struggles to hold on to a shitty monthly check, the movement exist inside ever CIL worker that makes that struggle easier, the movement exist inside all the crip ghettos that teach new crips that its ok to be proud. The movement has never been centralized in one city or town, especially one populated by the privileged.

i’m one of those folks who are constantly having “click” moments that when said outloud seem to be common sense to most people. for example:

friend: “why don’t you try putting your test/paper/school dates on your google calendar so you don’t miss them?”
me: “you mean, like i do with the rest of my life? how interestiiiiing.” *rubs chin in thinking mode*

friend: “maybe if you’re that upset, text message or IM conversation isn’t the most appropriate form of communication.”
me: *squints eyes* “huh? …you mean next time i should pick up the phone? wow. hm.”

and yesterday—
friend: “if you haven’t exercised in years, you probably shouldn’t start with a full work-out.”
me: “right! i forgot you were a PT/rec major! smart!”

(just now recovering feeling in my arms. starting to realize the bff is often a good voice of reason.)

today’s “click” moment:

organizing—or any team-related activity—works best when it involves multiple people leading. let the policy people do policy, let the media people do media, let the poets do poetry, let the activists do activism, and everyone do what they do (childcare? making a room comfortable? figuring out transportation? facilitation? web stuff? writing thank you letters? calling people? supporting each other? photography?).

you’re used to having to carry everything, but when it comes to this, you can’t. yes growth shapes vision and things should be forever evolving, but if this organization is going to have any stability, it can’t change every time you go through personal change or get burnt out with an area. gotta let people in that circle of trust, even if it’s one at a time. gotta hand some pieces over and believe the person will take care of it.

what a novel concept.

so how do you do it?

“how do you two feel about gay people?”
“would you ever date a disabled person?”

this weekend, friends and i organized a planning retreat for the disabled youth collective we are involved with. it’s always a trip to do this kind of thing—things are so fast-paced with social justice work that moving at that all-encompassing, all-consuming level becomes the norm. but then you go out into the woods with a crew of people who are completely new to organizing and well… it just doesn’t work that way. you realize there is language you take for granted, connections people have to make for themselves, and strategies for planting all these new seeds. a lot of waiting is involved. it’s so dreadfully slow. people ask you questions like the ones above and you have to sit for a second in disbelief ’cause you can’t remember the last time someone asked you that..

but this kind of thing— it’s beautiful at the same time, you know? seeing someone experience that “lightbulb moment” and knowing you were a part of it is the most amazing thing in the world. for example, one of my favorite guys (a high schooler w/ a learning disability, affectionately known as preacher), showed up late. he explained that his mother’s car wouldn’t start and when they said he had to call and cancel, he told them that he loved them but there were some things only other disabled people could get (!). his family drove a rental car two hours there and two hours back so he could come. unbelievable, huh? Read the rest of this entry »

this reminds me of the time a friend and i sat in a queer—err excuse me, glbt with a q following it on the next line—disability caucus meeting this summer. the group invited a HRC person to speak and when we asked why HRC had been invited, we were stared at. then when we spoke up against the group simply focusing on marriage advocacy with so much work to be done, they thought we were stupid southerners who were against gay marriage because of ignorance or overexposure to too much homophobia. needless to say, i left the meeting early, never having been talked down to so much. 

kit yan, from the good asian drivers spoken word duo:

you’re a force with responsibility
so listen, think, then act
you’re an icon of equality
so remember the colors of the community you stand for
you’re the face that the devil trusts
but you’ve become its reflection
hear us, please.
unfortunately we can not wait for you
we’ll be here when you return,
but we cannot wait for you
in the meantime, we’ll fight for ourselves…
-kit yan at 2:10