Thread by @Imani_Barbarin

So, you’ve probably seen mine and other disabled people’s pissed off tweets about the response to the #CoronaVirus.

You’re probably wondering why were #DisabledAndSaltyAF.

Here’s a thread as to why.

Join me, if you please...

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To start off, let me tell a story.

About 6 months before I graduated from graduate school in 2018, I started to look for work internationally at various comms agencies. I decided on a goal of 10-15 job applications a day.

I knew I needed to start early because I’m

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Disabled and it’s MUCH HARDER to find work and at the time, I was living in Paris and didn’t know which places were accessible or not. So, I figured I’d apply to them all.

I did my due diligence and was honest, disclosing each time I was asked, that I was disabled.

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I never once got a response to any of the hundreds of applications I sent out.

Keep in mind I was searching internationally and was willing to relocate.

After a while I became frustrated hearing absolutely nothing. Then, I made the decision to stop telling employers I

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Was disabled and viola, I was able to secure 6 interviews in a week.

Now came the hard part of showing up with my crutches and trying to convince hiring managers to see my talent more than my crutches.

But first. I had to get into the buildings.

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Many of the companies refused to tele-interview me, saying they required face-to-face meetings. For those that WERE accessible, they brushed me off and didn’t bother discussing my resume.

(I spent a lot of this time tweeting about disability, which is why I have a job now)

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When I did start getting closer to certain jobs, I wondered what they would think about me asking for accommodations like later starting times and tele-working.

I knew of many disabled people who were pushed out of jobs simply for asking their employers

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For accommodations that are REQUIRED BY LAW.

So, imagine my surprise (all disabled people’s surprise) when because of the #coronavirus all of the accommodations we have been denied because we’re disabled have suddenly become available.

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Quelle FUCKING surprise!

A lot of the things disabled people have long demanded have instantly manifested now that nondisabled people need them too.

Disabled people asked for telecommuting, and you called us “lazy.”

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We needed straws and single use plastics and you told us you were comfortable with “a few losses if it meant saving the planet.” Now, you’re hoarding them.

You called our activism “slactivism” but now your stuck at home, isolated and your marches have been canceled.

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Every fucking accommodation you have access to, you owe to disabled people. Not just during a pandemic, but everyday. The lives you’re living at the moment, we’ve been living a lifetime.

You can’t imagine what it’s like watching agencies and organizations I KNOW

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Denied me employment based on my disability make accommodations for their employees now that nondisabled people need them too.

Of the #coronavirus, has proven one thing: it’s that companies, colleges and orgs have no excuse not to make themselves accessible to everyone.

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And that, my friends, is why I’m #DisabledAndSaltyAF