Disability Blog Carnival: Tell The Story! (With Additions!)

Well, at long last here is the Disability Blog Carnival on Story. I am adding posts and such as I go... so visit often, there may be new rides! :)

Let's kick off this carnival with the wisdom of Frida at Frida Writes. She speaks of the power of story to connect and empower. There are a quotes from Elie Wiesel and John Donne and this quotable nugget that is pure Frida:

"How do we change disablism? Read. Write. Speak. Or sign. Learn stories and tell them. Teach others how to tell them. Edit them. Publish them. Retell others' stories. The power is yours. The power is through words."

Laura at Decor to Adore shares a story of extraordinary persistence... with a wonderful ending!

Rickismom from Beneath the Wings writes of the power of the stories we tell ourselves.

Emma , A Writer in a Wheelchair considers writing about characters with disabilities as a writer with a disability...

Dreamer at Life is But a Dream tells the story of  activites that seem easy to some people present unknown obstacles to others (and that minimizing concerns--by staff--does not make them go away!)

Spaz Girl from Butterfly Dreams shares the importance of collecting the stories of the Disability Rights Movement.

Amanda from Ballastexistenz shares a poem showing the difference between her life as she experiences it and as it is perceived (and judged) by those on the outside--professionals and others.

Barbara from TherExtras tells the story of a cat bite and the value (make that necessity!) of self advocacy when working with systems.

Astrid from Astrid's Journal shares a keychain story of self-realization.

Dave from Rolling Around in My Head tells the power of story at work.

Frogger from Special Siblings tells a success story.

And Penny from Disability Studies, Temple U shares one of the many stories of people with disabilities who came before. Stories absent from our history books and experiences...

Visit Media Dis-n-Dat and Disability News where Beth and Pat (respectively) collect disability stories that make the news around the world.

Lisa from Finnian's Journey shares her story of strides.

Cheryl at Finding My Way brings a video story of activism!

Go forth, tell your stories!

The next Disability Blog Carnival will be hosted by Dave Hingsburger over at Rolling Around in My Head... Also, Penny at Disability Studies, Temple U is looking for next hosts, go sign up with her!!!

Running Late

It will take me at least til tomorrow to get the carnival out... or maybe the next day, but I will try to make it sooner! See ya then!

The Carnival's Coming!!

The next Disibility Blog Carnival will be hosted here next week and the topic is "Story."

Here are some of my thoughts on story:

Story is the stuff of relationship. Story makes information meaningful and 'random' anecdotes connect.

People with disabilities historically have been removed from society's stories--they lived elsewhere, went to different schools, worked different jobs (or didn't), and to a large degree were left out of the history books...

The story society tells itself about disability--that disability is suffering and tragedy--often upstages the stories that people with disabilities live every day and tell whenever they get the opportunity.

Story introduces, bridges and explains...

Stories can be useful in advocacy and as therapeutic or teaching tools....

If you have a story to tell, or something to say about the power of story submit either in the comments on this post or on this post at Disability Studies. Or, if  you put Disability Blog Carnival and Story in the title of your post we (and by 'we' I mean Penny!) know how to find it!

I will be collecting posts all week and plan to post the carnival May 16.

So, whats YOUR story??

(You're right Cheryl, high time I posted this!!)

Happy Mothers' Day

Happy Mothers' Day All!

To all the moms who blog and advocate and parent and more: You are AWESOME!!!

Here is a post from a non-disability mommy-blogger  (and isn't this one of the prettiest blogs you've ever seen?) for your reading pleasure. Enjoy your day!

Blogging Against Disablism Day 2010: It's Everywhere

Well, it is still May 1st where I live!

When I was a kid my family read out loud together after supper (yes, we did have a TV, I am not THAT old!) At one point we read a Hardy Boys book that had peregrine falcons in it. We had never heard of them so we looked them up in the encyclopedia (Google for the 1970s.)  After that we all ran into peregrine falcons everywhere--in the newspaper, on TV, in stories and more. I can remember my mother saying, "And to think we had never even heard of them a month ago!"

Well, disablism--prejudice against people with disabilities--is like that.

Once you know what it is it's astounding how pervasive it is.

Today is Blogging Against Disablism Day. For 4 years now, all around the world, disability bloggists have been writing about disablism on May 1 and posting it with Goldfish. I was regretting that I had posted my disability rights "manifesto" earlier in the week thinking I should have saved it for today, but I should not have worried. In the past 2 days I have run across plenty of 'inspiration' without even looking.

Here is what I have seen:

Sometimes disablism is exploitive and screams at you in the check-out line. Today's headline of the National Enquirer blared, "Brad and Angelina: TWINS HEALTH SHOCKER! Tragic DOWN SYNDROME reports surrounding Vivienne and Knox.

The article was titled NEW FAMILY HEARTBREAK and the first paragraph went on to say blah, blah, blah, suffers with Down syndrome, blah, blah, blah.

The rest of the article mostly said Brad and Angie would be fine if their kids did have Down syndrome, but don't like all the attention...

Because, of course, Down syndrome isn't tragedy and suffering. But disablism is selling the papers...and selling those papers is reinforcing the disablism--the negative stereotypes about Down syndrome.

Sometimes disablism is utterly horrifying as in this article from a commenter's blog. I am having trouble with the statement that to be called a hate crime someone has to die... certainly this pervasive, perpetual terrorizing is not motivated by high esteem...

Sometimes disablism is unconscious. This video was showcased on another blog I enjoy. It is about what it takes to make an award-winning movie. The blogger who posted it wouldn't have if they had noticed. The video is lighthearted and not intended to offend. Yet it does. (The intro picture looks like the video will be sexual, it isn't.)

Sometimes disablism is institutional and even people within the disability world don't recognize it as this article illustrates.

So what's the answer? There are many of course, but here are a few of my favorites:

Presence: Be there. Part of the reason disablism is so common is because people with disabilities have lived lives separate from their communities until recently. The more people live together, the more relationships will be built.

Protest: Speak up and speak out. Assert the rights of people with disabilities, when you are hurt or treated disrespectfully find a way to say so.

Persist: Expect that you will confront disablism in some form many days and in many ways. Stick with it again and again and again...

Participate: None of us can--or should--join in every battle, but where you can, do. In the past year there have been many distressing disablism incidents and every one of them has led to increased awareness in our communities because people with disabilities and their allies have been there to identify the problem, shine light on it and ask for something else.

Pay attention: learn from each other, read each others' ideas, adopt each others' strategies and enjoy each others' company.

Perhaps something like reading or writing for a blogswarm....

BADD is good! Check it out! (Thank you Goldfish!)