I'm engaging in a lot of encounters lately where people see me masked and ask "oh should I grab a mask?" And I know it comes from a good place, but it can be really exhausting. Why? Let's talk about access labor. 1/10
Time and time again disabled people have to ask permission to be in the same spaces as non-disabled people. We need to ask for access to the building, we need to ask for layouts, we need to ask for captioning, we need to ask for interpreters. 2/10
I am constantly asking for permission to simply get into the room. And now let's compound that with masking. I'll use my own access needs as an example here. Just to get into the office to work I have to ask for so many things. 3/10
I have to ask for an entrance with automatic doors. I have to make sure the elevator is working. When it's not I have to ask for a fix. I have to ask for internal doors I can open. And when depressurized doors get "fixed" by unknowing maintenance teams I have to ask again. 4/10
I have to ask for a desk and chair because I'm expected to stand to teach and I can't do that for 3 hour seminars. I have to ask for captions in virtual meetings because I struggle with processing sometimes. I have to ask for work from home some days. 5/10
I have to ask for permission to inhabit the same spaces as my colleagues at least once a day if not more. And I have to ask other people to provide that access all the time. Now imagine if multiple people ask me "oh should I mask up?" 6/10
Every single time I have to gain the courage to say "yes please." And I am brave but it takes a LOT of courage and privilege to ask for access all the time. It also takes a lot of energy and labor. Some days I don't have it in me to ask permission for safety and security. 7/10
Access labor cannot ONLY be done by disabled people. We need you to alt text images, automatically turn on captions, host virtual/hybrid events that ENGAGE us. We need you to plan for us so we don't have to ask again and again for permission to inhabit the same space. 8/10
I want to be able to be less brave. I want to rest. I want to enter spaces where I don't need to ask, because someone has already taken into account universal design, and maybe even remembered my access needs. 9/10
I want academics to think about their complicity in access labor issues. Are you building access? For whom? Are you relying on someone to ask for access? Are you framing it as a favor? Are you unknowingly making someone feel shame/guilt? 10/10 #AcademicTwitter#AcademicChatter
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I finally got a Novavax booster! However the entire process was *messy*. You bet I will be writing to Novavax. Patients AND pharmacists should have proper knowledge, training, and access! 1/12
I tried to book a Novavax booster through the CVS vaccine app. I missed the 24-25 booster because I went back to school in Aug and the boosters hadnt rolled out yet. Instead, I got Pfizer and then cried when Novavax came out two weeks later. 2/12
Had I had a clearer timeline, or any transparency about when the vaccines would arrive locally, I would've chosen Novavax for the year. It protects across more strains, and I've always had less side effects than with Pfizer or Moderna. I made the best choice for my risks. 3/12
Glad that people love history. However, if you're not masking in public spaces, YOU are setting the tone for the eugenic platform. One of the easiest things you can do is think about high risk people. We need to go to school, the doctor, the store. We deserve access. 1/6
If you're spreading disabling and deadly diseases, then you're telling high risk people you dont care about their autonomy, human rights, or inclusion. And youre agreeing that its cool to lock us away or kill us. 2/6
It's not JUST that the eugenics movement is in full swing. Eugenicists are out in full these last few weeks, but this just compounds on top of what has been a terrible 5 years where high risk people have been told to go die. 3/6
If you're struggling to understand how eugenics impacts daily life right now, I recommend going back to the historical records to see how the eugenics movement took off 100 years ago. We need to be able to recognize it when we see it, so that we can push back and resist. 1/13
Luckily, historians and archivists have done a great job digitizing this content for us. Multiple archives, including the APS (which I cite exclusively from in this thread) contributed ditigized materials to the Eugenics Archive which is open access: 2/13eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/list3…
The eugenics movement was dominated by scientists, educators, charitable leaders, and billionaires (ahem) who believed they could create an "ideal" human race by eradicating anyone they deemed "unfit." This included non-white, queer, and disabled ppl amongst others. 3/13
Section 504 sit ins were successful because disabled people DID NOT make space for politicians to ignore them. They occupied buildings, laid down in front of busses, and made a spectacle that the nation could not ignore. 1/8
I understand that conditions are different. We are still in an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Protests have not been made safe for high risk peoples. But this is a reminder for everyone marching - sometimes occupying a building is just as much of a disruption as marching. 2/8
The 504 sit ins worked because disabled people kept at it each day. Disabled people tapped into advocacy networks to secure news coverage and attention. Other activist groups like the Black Panthers coordinated resources so that disabled people COULD sustain the protest. 3/8
I presume that Trump is talking about the fact that the FAA has a hiring pathway for disabled people, known as Schedule A hiring. If youre not aware of what that is, it exists bc the fed govt is SO BAD at hiring disabled people. 1/6
Schedule A hiring allows disabled people in the US to apply for govt jobs without competing with the public for said jobs. Similar to veterans and other groups, it offers an expedited pathway to employment. 2/6
You still need to prove that you are FIT for the job. You still have to interview, undergo any mandatory onboarding, and if its a classified job or something important you still need to pass all normal hiring processes. 3/6
I live in an urban space where its been hard to get to nature (I dont have a car, and public transit is dismal here). So I challenged myself this year to take whatever photos I could in the few green spaces I can access. Theyre just phone photos, but I hope you enjoy! 1/11
Found this fierce hunter at the local park 2/11
This majestic creature was lurking about our shitty campus fountain/manmade lake on a rainy day. 3/11