cripchick's blog

“I’m on the board of the NRA… I’m not gay, I’m not gay…Just check my voting record and you’ll see I’m not gay…”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IryvyAm76_o]
(a tad bit late but since craig keeps popping up in the news…)

I’m not sure what to say. I went to a WOC [women of color] conference for young feminists at Bennett College, a hbcu for women, today in Greensboro. The first session I attended was a small-group discussion on heteronormative society [expecting everyone to be straight/heterosexual] in the South, queer woc, and racism in the queer community/homophobia in the poc [people of color] community. The second session was one around feminism and how woc fit into it.  I’m still processing the whole day. It definitely was a lot of the things I’ve been looking for. 

It really got me thinking about community— how come we don’t have that kind of space in the disability community? How come our major annual conferences are tied to a “field” where we have to talk about best practices, new programs, or policy instead of building community? If we see ourselves more than “consumers” and “providers,” where are we giving ourselves the opportunity to talk about who we are? We do this in small groups, but will there ever be an allotted time for the community to gather and talk about this on a large, movement-shaking level?
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Saw this via The Curvature.

Republican Mayor Jerry Sanders explains why he suddenly decided to support gay marraige in San Diego. This clip made my eyes water. : ) It’s nice to have good news once in a while.  

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAOkwjQdm6Q]

“The concept of a separate-but-equal institution is not something I can support… In the end, I couldn’t look at their faces and tell them that their relationships, their very lives, were any less meaningful than the marriage I share with my wife.”

Thank you, Mayor Sanders. If you’d like to send him a thank you note, you can do so here.

Coverage of the Dem presidential candidate debate last night re: queer issues “If you want to tack the “T” on the end of the acronym [glbt], at least ensure that you REPRESENT us! Don’t do what a lot of groups do and have that letter there, yet not be able to understand what matters to those of us who go through transition or are gender-variant, much less only slightly acknowledge (or not acknowledge at all) our existence in contrast to the questions pertaining to gay men, lesbians and bisexuals!” (—katiegeek23.wordpress.com)

Ruben Navarro, disabled man given morphine so docs could have his organs ”Right now, the big concern in the public dialog appears to be that the publicity surrounding this will negatively impact the rate of organ donation…In a state where assisted suicide is still a hot and popular topic, the disability community cannot afford to be silent. This is about the lack of proper community support, abuse and neglect in institutions, the devaluing of our lives in medical settings, and the lack of accountability that exists for members of the medical profession.” (—www.fridanow.blogspot.com)

Military Woman Charged with Her Own Rape  “The rape charges were dropped against the three Airmen who were accused and they were given small fines and a reduction in rank.  But they have now been granted letters of immunity so that they can testify against Hernandez…. If convicted, she would have to register as a sex offender.” (— www.brownfemipower.com)