[ID: an edited XKCD comic. One stick figure tells another: “Online accessibility is second nature to us disabled bloggers, so it’s easy to forget that the average person probably only knows closed captioning and one or two trigger tags.”
The second figure replies: “And IDs, of course.” The first figure concurs: “Of course.”
The caption reads: “Even when they’re trying to compensate for it, experts in anything wildly overestimate the average person’s familiarity with their field.” End ID.]
note: were it not the meme format, I wouldn’t actually use the phrase “second nature” here, because learning about accessibility (and unlearning ableist frameworks that don’t prioritize accessibility) are still processes, not intuition, even for other disabled folks!
I’m disabled myself, yet I didn’t join social media or fandom just automatically knowing these things — which means that no matter where you’re starting from, you can learn something that makes a difference too!
B-17 bomber is riddled with German anti-aircraft fire but miraculously survives. Later they discover the explosive shells were all inert; sabotaged by Nazi slaves working in armament factories.
Inside one empty shell is a written note: it’s all we can do for you now.
The most important part of all this is that these small acts of bravery and noncompliance cannot be known as long as the enemy still stands, and might never be known. Just because it doesn’t seem like anyone is doing anything doesn’t mean it’s true. The best malicious compliance or subtle sabotage is the one that’s never detected, but makes ravages nonetheless.
A critical part of any resistance is
Do not post your crimes
Do not brag. Do not look for brownie points. Do not publicly recruit. Keep your mouth shut.
the man who owns and runs the thai restaurant in my town knows me by name. he is one of the kindest and most thoughtful men i know. i started ordering from his place back in january, which was when i got my fibromyalgia diagnosis. back then i was using a walker, had limited mobility in my entire body but especially my hands, and was very visibly in pain. i always ordered the same thing: yellow curry with no meat, potatoes and carrots only (i have texture and other dietary issues). he always made it a point to make sure i could get out the door and carry the food safely. he had his workers package the food so that it was easier for me to open. as i kept coming back and i told him a little bit about my health status, he would always encourage me to keep going. he told me about how the spices he used were good for inflammation and began to edit the recipe just for me so that spices that were even better for fighting inflammation were used. he’d give me extra portions and despite the fact that i would tip every time, i realized later that he never charged my card for them. as time went on and my condition began to get better, especially with the help of a physical therapist, he would make encouraging remarks and tell me how happy he was for me. the day i came in without my walker, he practically jumped for joy, and despite my insistence, he gave me my meal for free that day. i continue to make progress with my conditions and i continue to go to the thai place. this man who does not know me personally and who i hardly know anything about is one of my favorite people. it’s interactions with humans like these that make loving life easier. and his curry really does help my chronic condition. it’s comfort food taken to the next level.
wearing my multitool on my carabiner tonight so if i hear a beautiful femme say “oh no the bartender forgot to open my bottle:(” i can say dont worry princess<3 and take the bottle fumble over it for ten minutes with my multitool smash it to pieces and walk away shaking and crying
best animal names: unnecessarily judgemental edition
Here’s an addition
[ID: Screenshots from inaturalist of various animal names, each accompanied by a small photo of the animal. Animals listed are: failed northern caddisfly, northwest ugly clam, desperate leaf chameleon, deceiving earwig, bumpy lazy toad, gross sand cricket, dismal cicada, despised monkey, sad flycatcher, horrid elbow crab, and little virgin tiger moth. End ID]
ALT
