Thanks for the nudge. I have been thinking about this a good deal as I deal with my own struggles and issues around weight, healthy, etc. As always I appreciate you and your willingness to share so deeply and personally.
I was just talking yesterday with a friend about how much we appreciate you nudging us all to be more faithful in our witness to what's happening in Gaza. Grateful for you.
"I usually leave off disability so someone else can point it out and I can talk about how invisible it is to people not navigating the barriers it presents. "
You're contradicting the point you claim you're intending to make. If you're consistently leaving off disability, then it's justice issue that you don't feel deserves your attention as much as the others, and I'm frankly sick of this attitude from those claiming to care deeply about social justice. Just come clean and admit that you don't think disability justice is important as the other forms of social justice that you're working for. By the way, whatever happened that disability reading group that you were going to start?
Thanks for taking the time to respond, Sarah. I know you didn't have to. I appreciate it.
So, I always name it in every workshop. About twelve years ago, I accidentally left it off, and when I asked people if I had missed any on my own map, someone noted disability, and it ended up being a powerful moment where I could share that even though I was actively navigating a disability myself, I had left it off because even those of us really committed to recognizing the intersections of different forms of oppression, many of us have been socialized not to put disability into a structural framework, sometimes even when we live with a disability. It ended up being a powerful enough experience that I always did it for two reasons: 1) if someone caught it before I named it, it reinforced the idea that the group brings wisdom and not just the facilitator, and 2) if no one caught it, it tended to reinforce how often disability gets left out of the conversation. From where I was sitting, it actually emphasized how critical it was for us to pay attention to disability in our analysis.
That said, the landscape has changed a lot. Maybe that's no longer true, and it just feels like an afterthought. Also, maybe even if it works pedagogically, it also does harm. It would not be the first time I've not realized I was causing harm when I thought I was doing good. So I'm grateful for your insight and I'll keep sitting with it and having more conversation about it and my impact. I have a bad habit of thinking that if I'm part of an impacted community and I'm ok with something, that means it's ok. And that is absolutely not the case.
Thanks for asking about the Disability Visibility book group. I floated a link to the re-scheduling in my November 17 newsletter, but I didn't bring adequate attention to it, so I'm promoting it again more explicitly in the newsletter that drops next week and at the beginning of the year. It'll be January 21. https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85981705340?pwd=xaZ1hA1PoOGm9GaaYfU6NKBiYBcNNq.1
Beautiful ty! Very necessary especially in the workplace. It’s amazing how many of my friends struggle with this. They are amazing wonderful humans!
Thanks for the nudge. I have been thinking about this a good deal as I deal with my own struggles and issues around weight, healthy, etc. As always I appreciate you and your willingness to share so deeply and personally.
I was just talking yesterday with a friend about how much we appreciate you nudging us all to be more faithful in our witness to what's happening in Gaza. Grateful for you.
"I usually leave off disability so someone else can point it out and I can talk about how invisible it is to people not navigating the barriers it presents. "
You're contradicting the point you claim you're intending to make. If you're consistently leaving off disability, then it's justice issue that you don't feel deserves your attention as much as the others, and I'm frankly sick of this attitude from those claiming to care deeply about social justice. Just come clean and admit that you don't think disability justice is important as the other forms of social justice that you're working for. By the way, whatever happened that disability reading group that you were going to start?
Thanks for taking the time to respond, Sarah. I know you didn't have to. I appreciate it.
So, I always name it in every workshop. About twelve years ago, I accidentally left it off, and when I asked people if I had missed any on my own map, someone noted disability, and it ended up being a powerful moment where I could share that even though I was actively navigating a disability myself, I had left it off because even those of us really committed to recognizing the intersections of different forms of oppression, many of us have been socialized not to put disability into a structural framework, sometimes even when we live with a disability. It ended up being a powerful enough experience that I always did it for two reasons: 1) if someone caught it before I named it, it reinforced the idea that the group brings wisdom and not just the facilitator, and 2) if no one caught it, it tended to reinforce how often disability gets left out of the conversation. From where I was sitting, it actually emphasized how critical it was for us to pay attention to disability in our analysis.
That said, the landscape has changed a lot. Maybe that's no longer true, and it just feels like an afterthought. Also, maybe even if it works pedagogically, it also does harm. It would not be the first time I've not realized I was causing harm when I thought I was doing good. So I'm grateful for your insight and I'll keep sitting with it and having more conversation about it and my impact. I have a bad habit of thinking that if I'm part of an impacted community and I'm ok with something, that means it's ok. And that is absolutely not the case.
Thanks for asking about the Disability Visibility book group. I floated a link to the re-scheduling in my November 17 newsletter, but I didn't bring adequate attention to it, so I'm promoting it again more explicitly in the newsletter that drops next week and at the beginning of the year. It'll be January 21. https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85981705340?pwd=xaZ1hA1PoOGm9GaaYfU6NKBiYBcNNq.1
Again, thanks for taking the time to write.