More from @bennessb

Brianne Benness

@bennessb

Jan 29

anyway I’ve been subtweet central lately specifically because I’ve been working on the updated void # explanation for the website for A While and so this larger conversation about disability communities & social media & accountability mechanisms feels very Timely.

I don’t think there’s any point to relitigating individual conflicts because I’m pretty sure we all get annoyed sometimes & we all annoy other people, but if we’re trying to use this platform to build care webs then we need to be really really honest about our curation choices.

it’s not like blocking or dog piling on people in your own community is unusual on twitter at all, but it’s maybe more unusual to have that mixed in with policy shaping & mutual aid efforts that people rely on to survive. especially housebound people. especially in a pandemic.

Read 10 tweets

Brianne Benness

@bennessb

Jan 29

I think a lot of people would be surprised to realize how many large-ish disability accounts have each other muted or blocked.

a lot of us were already spending a lot of time on twitter before the pandemic because we already lived in relative isolation anyway, and you know, many of us have pretty different ideas about how & why to use the platform.

maybe we need an annual twitter festivus, complete with an airing of grievances.

(this is a joke not a sincere suggestion.)

Read 5 tweets

Brianne Benness

@bennessb

Jan 29

ok I’m starting the book Osler’s Web (Inside the labyrinth of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Epidemic) today!

it’s a dense 700 pages from 1996, so we’ll see if my brain can handle it at this time.

will share snippets, reactions & reflections in this thread.

“I conducted the interviews used in this book over a period of nine years, begin-
ning in the fall of 1986.”

that’s right before I was born! this will be some bleak background context as I’m reading, to be sure.

past is present. 😕

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Brianne Benness

@bennessb

Jan 28

I have no connection to m*ttbc other than having unfollowed them years ago when I had a much smaller account because it seemed like a lot of people they qt dunked on were other disabled people who were either misspeaking or misinterpreted.

this whole thing is an access convo.

I spend a lot of time on twitter and also I’ve had a disproportionate amount of Cognitive Dysfunction Conflict happening in my mentions over the last five years and there’s a lot to say about social media and harassment and protecting ourselves (and each other!) from for ex rsd.

misunderstandings get heated bc of conflict collapse & bc when you’re alrdy screening harassment it can be impossible to read things generously. (also we should be able to use twitter without always performing customer service). but community resources have different access reqs.

Read 7 tweets