@SwiftOnSecurity @Lazarou America needs to ask itself if it’s ready to lose existing privileges in the worldwide economy.

If the country turns tyrannical… Where will the experts leave the USA for? Who will abide by USA copyright & patents? Boycotts? Trade agreements? If America is no longer trustworthy as a country, what are the consequences?

@clarissadelune @stib hoping it’s not a sign of magnetic pole reversal

These are the new Draconian laws to enter a #library in #Idaho. Apparently libraries are extremely dangerous to the status quo.

This #LongCovidAwarenessDay I want to say sorry. I’m sorry to everyone who’s joined the ranks of the chronically ill & disabled because our leaders, public health and fellow citizens refuse to take Covid seriously.

Those of us who were disabled before the pandemic could see this wave of chronic illness coming - and many of us have been screaming from the top of our lungs the last 4 years. Begging people not to take their health for granted & to wear a mask and protect themselves. Warning them that there are no do-overs once you become chronically ill.

Unfortunately very few people are listening - and many won’t understand the true devastation of #LongCovid until it directly impacts them. At which point it’ll be too late.

Despite seeing these waves of disability as an inevitable consequence of “let er rip” Covid strategy - one thing I did not see coming was how many people would willingly embrace not only ableism - but full on eugenics.

People in my own life who were previously kind & supportive have become cruel and angry. The masks have been ripped off. They don’t hesitate to tell me that they blame me for the restrictions placed on them in the early days of Covid - and that they will never again allow their freedoms to be infringed on in the name of protecting the vulnerable. One even went as far as to say “you’ve been sick for years - just die already.”

People who say these things don’t understand what disabled people understand all too well - your health is not a permanent state. Everyone will become disabled eventually…. Some of us earlier than others. Also many people who think they’re invulnerable are already vulnerable and don’t even know it.

Yet rather than adapting behaviour and pushing for a new normal that makes the world safe for everyone - most temporarily abled people have instead doubled down on hateful eugenics talking points and want us to stay home forever (or worse - die). It needs to stop.

Covid is airborne and we all share the air. “You do you” individualism is quite literally killing people. We need to start caring about the air we share as this will lead to a healthier society for everyone. Until then we need to mask up. It’s not hard, it’s incredibly effective & it might save someone’s life.

If you want to read more about the “friend” who told me I should “just die already”… I wrote about it & the behaviour changes I’ve noticed throughout the pandemic here: https://disabledginger.substack.com/p/just-die-already

#covid #CovidIsNotOver #CovidisAirborne #Eugenics #ableism #disabilityRights #ChronicIllness #WearAMask #CleanAir #MasksSaveLives

I don’t know who needs to hear this - but it’s normal to be anxious if you’re at the ER. Especially during an airborne pandemic. HCW’s should not be slapping an anxiety label on patients who request they wear a mask.

A person sick enough to need the ER is too sick to handle Covid. Instead of judging them just put on a mask. It’s a kindness and it’ll protect you too!

#CovidIsNotOver #LongCovid #disabilityrights #KeepMasksinHealthcare #CovidCautious #CovidIsAirborne

Join us for Long Covid Awareness Day at Ron Barassi Senior Park where the Bolte Bridge will be lit up in teal for the day. People will be assembling at 7:30pm. Reach out to your comrades still affected by this terrible disease and do all you can to protect the vulnerable. #WakeUpToLongCovid #unions #union #activismaustralia #unionsaustralia #unionsaus #socialjustice #longcovid #covid #coronavirus #corona

I will state ahead of time that I do my very best not to cross post from the various sites but, this video is IMPORTANT and the discussion I've been trying to have with people for a few years now. People are so unwilling to process the discomfort of reality or even look at it face on. Please give it a watch if you value the voices of disabled people and the longevity of your loved ones.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cz-MIQDRktn/

#disabilityRights #longCovid #Covid #historyRepeatsItself #eugenics #fear #reality #covidPolicy

Good morning Fediverse.

Yesterday we passed legislation to raised minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 years in the ACT. And as we can see this morning, the world has not ended. Someone please tell the Liberals.

#JusticeReinvestment #ChangeTheRecord #RaiseTheAge #auspol

For those of you considering a future #PhD, in my new role as Associate Professor at Monash University, Melbourne, I am excited about supervising future #doctoral work in these areas:
@potemkinvillage #disinformation #commodon #research

The day is almost here. Google will start deleting inactive Gmail and Google Photos accounts that haven’t been accessed within 2 years this week (December 1st).

This is a final reminder that if you have a Gmail or Google Photos account that you haven’t used in a while, log in to ensure it doesn’t get deleted.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaymcgregor/2023/11/23/google-will-mass-delete-old-gmail-and-photos-content-next-week/

@wraith doesn’t look like it. A booklet named Evidence cites opinion articles and blames patients for not getting better despite a lack of treatment 🙄 https://www.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/380741/long-covid-living-evidence-summary.pdf

I had to check it wasn’t written by #thechaser or #theshovel

You don't need to use the official Mastodon apps, they're not the best way to use Mastodon. The official apps only arrived last year, and they were intended as "Fisher Price My First Mastodon" things with a restricted set of features.

Third party apps have been around longer than official ones, and include way more features. You can sign in with the same account on all apps.

:android: On Android try Tusky, Fedilab, Megalodon, Tooot

:apple_inc: On iPhone/iPad, try Toot!, Ice Cubes, Ivory, Mona

It’s 1 September and #Bleptember is already taking off! Make sure to follow the hashtag so you won’t miss out on all the adorableppiness!

ice cold take but if you have to #pay for #accessibilityfeatures it is not in #fact #accessible

#ausgov #auspol #tasgov #taspol #politas #classwar

TIL the New York Times style guide mandates removing all diacritical marks from text

what does it say about your society when your "paper of record" is so transparently racist

(rhetorical question)

Do I know any screen reader users who have successfully completed advanced math coursework? If so, I would like to meet with you. Boosts requested

I'm following the devastating news from Slovenia, where one month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours. It's the biggest natural disaster in the young country's 32-year history. Large parts of the country are flooded. I can't even begin to imagine the time and money needed to recover from this.

But it's hard to find non-Slovenian coverage of this disaster. Press agencies like Reuters and AP are reporting it, but newspapers in, say, Germany or the US aren't picking it up.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/floods-hit-slovenia-forcing-evacuations-disrupting-transport-2023-08-04/

@ryansingel the experiences of disabled and elderly people as pedestrians hit by bikes are real. I’m not sure how you think that’s unrelated to safer streets or safety.

I replied to the original post about empathy and bikes, on topic. The no ambulances comment is one I’ve received from a bike rider in response to questions about removing roads and safety for disabled and elderly and I didn’t find it helpful either, relevant to the topic. Paths and roads are needed by some disabilities due to the firm surfaces, sand and soft grass are not always safe for mobility aids.

I’m not comparing cars and bikes, that’s the entire point, pedestrians to bikes have statistics too and the ones who come off worse are the vulnerable. They need to be included in safety designs as they can’t just switch to different modes of transport that are available to others.

There need to be awareness of disabilities in pedestrians for bike riders, such as deaf people who can’t hear bells, blind people who can hear them but can’t see what’s coming and people who can see and hear but can’t dodge incoming speeders. The simple action of ringing a bell leads to different experiences if you’re not able-bodied.

What exactly are the tools on your keychain you referred to? I’ve clearly misunderstood what you meant.

@atlgaytheist @mekkaokereke the car free design claims are directly from the bike community, I agree they are silly but this is often the conversation quality when issues of disability access and safety are raised.

The issue isn’t that it’s very common statistically, it’s the constant dismissal that it happens at all. It might be rare for bike riders but careless attitudes towards physically vulnerable people is all too common in their lives and shouldn’t be hand waved away as though their experience isn’t real or valid. They can’t choose not to be vulnerable. Bike riders have a choice in how they treat other people. Community leaders have a choice in how they behave towards minorities.

Able bodied people might rarely face serious risk from riders but that is NOT the experience of the elderly, the disabled and those with mobility issues. Their safety cannot be ignored because they are not a majority. It’s a serious issue they cannot prevent or control, many cannot drive or use cars, only cyclists can do that but they can’t even acknowledge this behaviour in the community, without a lot of “oh, but that’s rare”. If hearing about it makes you uncomfortable, it should. My blind friend has been hit dozens of times and riders rarely even stop to see if he’s okay. The original question was about whether having bikes increases empathy.

Disabled and elderly bodies and lives have value, people grieve them when they die, they might lose their jobs, spouse or autonomy from their injuries, their health and life may be even more vulnerable in hospital, being a minority doesn’t mean their safety isn’t a serious issue.

When bike riders are this defensive about the topic, how can safety behaviour ever improve when it’s not even accepted as a serious issue? Where is the empathy that’s freely given to able-bodied cyclists who have been injured by cars? Ableism *is* a serious systemic issue.

@royal The Colour of Magic - kids just love the Luggage #TerryPratchett